Russian selfie fail damages Dali masterpiece in Yekaterinburg

An etching by celebrated Spanish surrealist Salvador Dali has been damaged after visitors accidently toppled a display stand during an ill-conceived selfie attempt at an art gallery in Yekaterinburg.

The piece from the artist’s Los Caprichos series — along with the 18th century artwork by Francisco Goya which inspired it — fell to the floor when a group of women tried to take a photo at the show at the city’s Glavny Prospekt International Art Centre. The group accidently knocked over a temporary wall in their bid for the perfect angle, damaging Dali’s canvas and almost flattening a fellow art-lover. Goya’s etching escaped unharmed, but the full extent of the damage is still being assessed.

The women fled the scene, but were later identified and questioned by the police, who ruled that the incident was “accidental.” Gallery staff described the visitors’ behaviour as “inadequate” but will also not be pressing charges.