Timur Serebrykov, 27, of Pittsburgh, a guard at the Carnegie Museum of Art has been charged with slashing Vija Celmins’ “Night Sky .12” a painting he apparently didn’t like, damaging it beyond repair.

The museum’s surveillance camera caught the vandalism on May 16, police said Thursday.

The 31-by-37½-inch oil-on-canvas painting of a black starlit night had a large vertical gouge in the middle and was damaged beyond repair & valued at $1.2 million according to a police affidavit.

Court documents indicate Serebrykov used a key or other implement to damage the painting because he disliked it.

“Dreamspace” the explorable artspace with connected cells of color and shape broke away from it’s moorings in July of 2006 and the company that made it [Brouhaha International] and it’s Artist Maurice Agis, 76, are being charged with gross negligence manslaughter by Durham [British] police.

After slipping it’s moorings and rearing up vertically visitors Claire Furmedge, 38, from Chester-le-Street, and Elizabeth Collings, 38, from Seaham were killed, another 13 injured.

Both parties will all appear at Peterlee magistrates’ court on February 26. Read more here