6 Times Vandals Damaged Priceless Works of Art

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• Works of art are often targets for political dissent. 
• Thankfully, many damaged works of art were able to be painstakingly restored. 
• Some of these attacks are committed for attention. 
• Also: 2 Dividend Legends to Hold Forever

For as long as can be remembered, humanity has enjoyed works of art. Art has brought us joy for many millennia, whether through statues, paintings, or other art forms. Unfortunately, priceless works of art can also be a target for those who wish to bring attention to a specific issue. Art vandalism for causes goes back at least to the suffragettes (1913 Mary Richardson slashing Velázquez’s Rokeby Venus). In modern times, as in earlier eras, activists have defaced art to draw attention to causes such as climate change, war, or social justice. The hopeful result is that any vandal work can be repaired, though such repairs can take years to return art to its original state. 

This post was updated on October 17, 2025 to clarify the history of vandalizing art in the name of social justice, dimensions of Guernica, reasons for Guernica’s creation, the restorations of several works, year finished and medium of The Virgin and Child, Mona Lisa attack details, damage to The Night Watch, and location of Pieta.

6. Guernica 

A crowd gathers to look at Pablo Picasso’s work.

• Type of art: Painting
• Created by: Pablo Picasso
• Finished: 1937
• Estimated Worth: $200 million
• Current location: Museo Reina Sofia, Madrid

Well-Known Art

The size of the Guernica is visible in this picture.

Considered to be the most powerful anti-war painting in history, Guernica is a modern masterpiece. Standing 11 feet tall and 25 feet across, Guernica was Picasso’s response to Germany’s bombing of the Basque town of Guernica in 1937. In 1974, Tony Shafrazi defaced Guernica with spray paint while the painting was on loan to New York’s Museum of Modern Art; the words “Kill Lies All” was scrawled across the painting. Shafrazi’s actions were in response to the release of U.S. army officer Lt. William Calley from house arrest for the 1968 My Lai massacre. 

5. The Portland Vase

The Portland Vase depicts multiple scenes.

• Type of art: Vase
• Created by: Unknown
• Finished: 5-25 AD
• Estimated Worth: Priceless
• Current location: British Museum, London

Smashed and Restored

The Portland Vase is on display at the British Museum.

The Portland Vase was discovered in a burial chamber in 1582 near Rome. The best-known work of Roman cameo glass, the 10-inch-high vase includes two distinct scenes. Sadly, in 1845, drunken visitor William Lloyd shattered the vase into 37 pieces. John Doubleday restored the vase first in 1845–1846. It was again restored in 1949 and 1989 and is currently on display at the British Museum.

4. The Virgin and Child with St. Anne And St. John The Baptist 

The Virgin and Child with St. Anne And St. John The Baptist on display in 1962.

• Type of art: Charcoal/chalk cartoon
• Created by: Leonardo da Vinci
• Finished: 1499–1500
• Estimated Worth: $35 million
• Current location: National Gallery, London

Shotgun Attack

The painting is currently restored and on display at the National Gallery in London.

In 1987, mentally ill Robert Cambridge attacked The Virgin and Child with a sawn-off shotgun. Wanting to bring attention to “political, social, and economic conditions in Britain,” Cambridge destroyed the painting’s glass covering and caused significant damage to the artwork. Remarkably, it only took restorers a handful of months to repair the painting after collecting the tiny fragments of blasted paper and gluing them back together. 

3. The Mona Lisa

The Mona Lisa is one of the most famous paintings ever.

• Type of art: Painting
• Created by: Leonardo da Vinci
• Finished: 1503–1506 (though Leonardo tinkered with it for years)
• Estimated Worth: $1 billion
• Current location: Louvre Museum

1974 Attack

The Mona Lisa is on display at the Louvre.

One of the world’s best-known paintings, The Mona Lisa, has been attacked several times over the last 110 years. In 1974, while the painting was on tour at Tokyo’s National Museum, a disabled Japanese woman named Tomoko Yonezu protested lack of access for disabled people by targeted the painting. Thankfully, her attack only damaged the protective glass and not the painting itself.

2. The Night Watch

The Night Watch is one of Rembrandt’s most famous pieces.

• Type of art: Painting
• Created by: Rembrandt van Rijn
• Finished: 1642
• Estimated Worth: $500 million 
• Current location: the Rijksmuseum

Multiple Attacks

The Night Watch is carefully restored behind a protective wall.

Due to its high profile, The Night Watch has been attacked four times since 1911. However, the September 11, 1975 attack caused the most damage, resulting in 12 slashes up to 60 cm long. Wilhelmus de Rijk, an unemployed schoolteacher, damaged the painting by claiming he “did it for the Lord.” Restoration took about eight months; it was back on view in 1976.

1. Michelangelo’s Pieta

The Pieta is one of Michelangelo’s most famous pieces.

• Type of art: Statue
• Created by: Michelangelo di Ldovico Buonarroti Simoni 
• Finished: 1498 – 1499
• Estimated Worth: Priceless
• Current location: St. Peter’s Basilica

1972 Vandalism

The 1972 attack caused notable damage to the Pieta statue.

In 1972, a mentally disturbed geologist known as Laszlo Toth attacked Pieta with a geologist’s hammer. Shouting, “I am Jesus Christ; I have risen from the dead,” he struck the statute, which depicts Mary holding Christ’s body after the Crucifixion. Toth managed 15 blows before being stopped. It took ten painstaking months to repair the damage to Mary’s arm, nose, and eyelid. Pieta is now protected behind bullet proof glass.