cartoon was put up for sale with an asking price of £800,000. Amid fears that it would find an overseas buyer, it was exhibited in the National Gallery where it was seen by more than a quarter of a million people in a little more than four months, many of whom made donations in order to keep the artwork in the United Kingdom. The price was eventually met by donations, thanks in part to contributions from the National Art Collections Fund. Ten years after its acquisition, John Berger wrote derisively that "It has acquired a new kind of impressiveness. Not because of what it shows – not because of the meaning of its image. It has become impressive, mysterious because of its market value". In 1987, the cartoon was attacked in an act of vandalism with a sawn-off shotgun from a distance of approximately seven feet. The shooter was identified as a mentally ill man by the name of Robert Cambridge, who claimed he committed this act in order to bring attention to "political, social and economic conditions in Britain". The blast shattered the glass covering, causing significant damage to the artwork that has since been restored. References Sources External links Page on the cartoon from the National Gallery's official website Leonardo da Vinci: anatomical drawings from the Royal Library, Windsor Castle, exhibition catalog fully online as PDF from The Metropolitan Museum of Art, which contains material on The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne and Saint John the Baptist'' (see index) 1500s in art Drawings by Leonardo da Vinci Collections of the National Gallery, London Vandalized works of art in the United Kingdom Jesus in art Virgin Mary in art John the Baptist in art Drawings of people Nude art