How much is Jeff Koons’ ‘Balloon Dog’ worth? Iconic sculpture smashed by art collector in Miami

A woman accidentally broke Jeff Koons’ sculpture of a balloon dog, which was worth $42,000. The two-decade-old work of art shattered on the floor of the Miami gallery on Thursday, February 16. Luckily for the woman, who is an art collector, Koons is treating the incident as an accident and is not filing for damages.

Furthermore, the piece was covered by insurance, and hence, the woman didn’t have to pay for the Balloon Dog. Stephen Gamson, a Wynwood-based artist and art collector, spoke to a news publication and said:

“When this thing fell to the ground, it was like how a car accident draws a huge crowd on the highway.”

Gamson also claimed that the art piece is valuable, even though it is broken. Hence, he approached the Miami Art Gallery and offered to purchase the porcelain shards that were left behind after the sculpture broke.

Additionally, the sculpture that was smashed was a miniature version of Koons’ famous 12-foor-tall Balloon Dog, which is made out of stainless steel and is currently on display in Los Angeles.

---

More details revealed about the accident and Jeff Koons’ piece as the scultpture broke into more than 100 pieces due to accident by an art collector

When the woman dropped the art piece by mistake, the blue porcelain Balloon Dog broke into a hundred pieces. Other art collectors and people visiting the gallery initially thought that the fall could be a part of the staged performance by the artist and the gallery.

However, they soon saw the woman blush and the art gallery staff members rushing over to take stock of the situation.

Furthermore, other art collectors who were present at the gallery reported that the pieces of Jeff Koons’ Balloon Dog sculpture are now stored in a box and are currently waiting for the insurance company to review them.

Cédric Boero, a district manager for Bel-Air Fine Art, also talked about the incident and said that it almost felt like life had stopped for 15 minutes after the accident happened.

Boero also talked about how breaking the art piece has boosted the value of the remaining pieces, as there is now one fewer Balloon Dog sculpture by Jeff Koons. There are 798 Balloon Dog sculptures across the world. They come in numerous shades of orange, red, magenta, yellow and blue.

Jeff Koons, born in 1955, is well-known for his sculptures depicting everyday objecting, like balloon animals and stainless steel sculptures. Throughout his career, he has collaborated with many other artists, art journals and singers like Lady Gaga too. However, he has portrayed a lot of his work in many exhibitions in cities like New York, Chicago, Berlin, etc.

Jeff Koons has not addressed the incident as of now, and a statement from him on the matter is awaited.