Washington Crossing the Delaware vandalized at Met

Just spotted this at WNBC:

A famous oil painting of George Washington crossing the Delaware was vandalized at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, allegedly by a former museum employee who glued two pieces of paper over it, police said Friday.

"Washington Crossing the Delaware," painted by Emanuel Leutze in 1851, sustained $2,000 in damage, police said.

The former employee, Robert Gray, 41, of Manhattan, was arrested Thursday and charged with felony criminal mischief.

The painting, which depicts Washington's attack on the Hessians at Trenton on Dec. 25, 1776, was defaced sometime last Saturday, police said. They said the museum didn't report the incident to them until Tuesday.

The accused doesn't sound too clever, if this Newsday report is correct:

Police zeroed in on the suspect, Robert Gray, 41, of Inwood, because his name was written on the paper, they said. Gray was charged with felony criminal mischief.

Some sites with info on the painting are here and here.

Posted by David on January 24, 2003 10:15 AM