© 2026 WRVO Public Media
NPR News for Central New York
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

VIDEO: 12-Year-Old Boy Trips, Rips Hole In $1.5 Million Painting

If you've ever been to a museum with a child, this video probably represents your worst nightmare:

It shows a 12-year-old boy in Taiwan trip and stumble onto a 350-year-old Paolo Porpora oil on canvas painting called Flowers. The boy ripped a fist-sized hole in the painting, which is valued at $1.5 million.

Oops.

Luckily, The Guardian reports:

"The organizers will not ask the boy's family to pay for the restoration costs, according to Focus Taiwan news. It said the exhibition organizer, Sun Chi-hsuan, said the boy was very nervous but should not be blamed and the painting, part of a private collection, was insured. ...

"The exhibition, which also includes portraits of Leonardo, shows 55 paintings in Taiwan 'gathered from the finest art collectors in the world', according to the organizers.

" 'All 55 paintings in the venue are authentic pieces and they are very rare and precious,' a post on the exhibition's Facebook page said. 'Once these works are damaged, they are permanently damaged.' "

We'd like to remind the boy that sometimes accidents turn out fortuitous.

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Eyder Peralta is NPR's East Africa correspondent based in Nairobi, Kenya.
Recent cuts to federal funding are challenging our mission to serve central and upstate New York with trusted journalism, vital local coverage, and the diverse programming that informs and connects our communities. This is the moment to join our community of supporters and help keep journalists on the ground, asking hard questions that matter to our region.

Stand with public media and make your gift today—not just for yourself, but for all who depend on WRVO as a trusted resource and civic cornerstone in central and upstate New York.