In 2010, an Andy Warhol Brillo Pad sculpture was sold for just over $3 million. While many of the Brillo Pad sculptures made by Warhol in 1964 were replicas of the iconic red, white, and blue boxes, he also made one in a yellow box that advertised it as three cents off.
That box, which was the subject of an HBO documentary about the sale, Brillo Box (3ȼ Off), ended up in the possession of a superyacht owner, who proudly put it on display on their boat.
Unfortunately, a member of their crew didn’t realize the wooden Brillo Pad box was a famous piece of art. According to Nautilus International, the crew member inadvertently tossed the iconic sculpture in the trash.
Pandora Mather-Lees of Pandora Art Services told Nautilus International that it is important for yacht owners to educate their crew about any expensive items used to decorate the ship.
“The biggest risk is moving the art. There’s a lot of accidental damage. When art is moved around, it is vulnerable – it gets dropped or inadvertently ruined because people just don’t know what it is,” she explained, noting there are many cases of crew members damaging a piece of art while cleaning the vessel.
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