Mark Paton, 44, was arrested on Wednesday after repeatedly hitting the $3.4 million portrait, by Joshua Reynolds, at the National Portrait Gallery.
The trail gets even more complex once the images of their paint and canvas portraits hit the Internet (where they now exist): "The digital images of the portraits will circulate online, be copied, posted and tweeted by journalists and bloggers.
But in those that hit the mark, like his sensitive portrait of his young daughter Lizzie and the watercolor of his Maine living room, everything falls into place.
Once, someone tore a favorite one-of-a-kind shirt embellished with Jack Nicholson's portrait and the legend "Hit the Road Jack," from the year the Celtics played the Lakers, but Demling, undaunted, pinned it back together and continues to wear it.
The forward thrust of the body, and the contrasted light effects give the portrait an abruptness and expressiveness that hit the viewer in the face.
The most expensive work of the week was a four-panel self-portrait from 1963-4, whith hithehe block at Christie's.
Hit the right optical biting point, and the squiggles coalesce into portraits, like the one on this wall at White Cube Bermondsey.
The portrait remained in their collection for nearly half a century and never hit the market until this week.
But with its grasp of suspense and character, it hits the mark as a portrait of openhearted determination that's devoid of desperation.
"Mechanics," hitting the daily from another angle, builds a group portrait of men at work.
