Controversial Painting Featuring Mother Teresa Among Pro-Choicers Defaced At Trumbull Library

TRUMBULL, Conn. (CBSNewYork) -- A controversial painting was vandalized Wednesday night just as Trumbull's first selectman was speaking about the need for the town to insure paintings on display.

As WCBS 880 Connecticut Bureau Chief Fran Schneidau reported, First Selectman Tim Herbst was addressing the matter at the town library when suddenly, he said, "I heard commotion in the outer part of the library, and I left the meeting to see what was going on."

Herbst said some witnesses reported seeing a woman defacing a painting that depicts Mother Teresa standing alongside pro-choice advocates. The face of Planned Parenthood founder Margaret Sanger was blackened, apparently with makeup or a marker.

Herbst said the vandalism is exactly why he's been urging that paintings on display be insured to protect the town from any liability and shield the owner from loss.

"Not only would Dr. Resnick's artwork have been properly protected, but the town would have been insulated and not in the middle of this mess," Herbst said.

The painting by Robin Morris was commissioned by Richard and Jane Resnick, the Trumbull Times reported.

Herbst had ordered the painting temporarily removed from the town library until there's a formal agreement in place protecting the town from liability. According to reports, there are concerns the use of Mother Teresa's image could be a potential copyright infringement.

Herbst said the $300,000 painting was independently rehung, without any certificate of insurance.

Police are working to track down the woman responsible for the damage.