Man who ‘fell’ against Monet painting later had heart surgery

A man who claims he collapsed into a Claude Monet painting had a quadruple heart bypass a year later, his trial has heard. The work, Argenteuil Basin with a Single Sailboat, is valued at €10 million

Andrew Shannon (48), Willans Way, Ongar, Dublin, denies causing criminal damage to the impressionist painting at the National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin, on June 29th, 2012.

He told witnesses he “felt weak” and “fell against” the oil painting, explaining to paramedics that he suffered from unstable angina.

The jury at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard Mr Shannon arrived at St James’s Hospital on July 2nd, 2013, having suffered a heart attack.

Consultant surgeon Nicholas Walcot told Brendan Grehan SC, defending, that he supervised coronary surgery on Mr Shannon on July 15th, 2013, when he had 90 per cent blockages in all three major vessels of the heart, which would have built up over the years.

Asked for his expert opinion on the event in the gallery, Mr Walcot said Mr Shannon getting up and walking away was “a little bit inconsistent”.

“If somebody collapses, I would have thought the person would stay down or sit down quickly.”