A famed painting, best known by its unofficial title, was pawned by the artist at one point, appeared on a U.S. postage stamp, and was also featured in a film in which the main character both ruined and stole it. What painting is this, what is its official title, and in what film did it play a role?

zbeckabee

Arrangement in Grey and Black: The Artist's Mother, famous under its colloquial name Whistler's Mother. The painting was featured prominently in the 1997 film Bean, when Mr. Bean, played by Rowan Atkinson was sent to the United States from England to oversee the installation of the painting in a Californian art museum. After sneezing on it, Mr. Bean wipes the painting with his handkerchief, but accidentally smears the mother's face with blue ink instead. Bean then attempted to clean the ink off using paint thinner, which washed off the ink, as well as the face. Bean ends up replacing the painting with a poster, while taking the original home with him and placing it over his mantlepiece, with a cartoon head drawn over the blank space where the mother's head had been. Wiki May 14 06, 4:51 PM

lanfranco

That's the one, zbeck. It may also be known as "Arrangement in Grey and Black, No. 1." And to all of those mothers in countries celebrating the holiday today, "Happy Mother's Day!" Here's the wiki site: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whistler's_Mother May 14 06, 5:01 PM