Andrew Shannon is an art critic. Of sorts. In June 2012 he entered Ireland’s National Gallery in Dublin and punched a hole through a Monet painting worth $10 million. Perhaps he’s just not a fan of Impressionism. “Shannon attacked a Monet painting, entitled Argenteuil Basin with a Single Sailboat (1874), and then shouted at the group of shocked gallery visitors who had witnessed the scene,” reports Artnet. “The security guard who restrained Shannon shortly after found a can of paint stripper on the vandal.”
After the attack Shannon told police that he had attacked the painting “to get back at the State.” But in court last week he tried to make light of the vandalism, saying he “felt faint” and fell against the painting. He was sentenced to five years in prison and, upon release, is barred from entering any art gallery for 15 months. The painting has been repaired and is once again hanging at the Gallery.
