Hyde Collection Catablog

Samuel Johnson was certainly a man who provoked strong reactions, both positive and negative, during his life. Apparently he retains that power centuries later:

An art vandal who repeatedly struck at a £1.7m Joshua Reynolds portrait with a hammer has caused more than £10,000 worth of damage to the painting held at the National Portrait Gallery. Mark Paton, 44, from Ilford, east London, yesterday pleaded guilty to damaging the 18th century portrait of Samuel Johnson – one of the gallery’s most prized works – shortly before closing time on August 8.

(Via the Bibliothecary Blog and Philobiblos)