People headed into the National Academy of Sciences this morning passed by a curious sight: The institution’s memorial of Albert Einstein was covered in yarn from head to toe, resulting in a colorful oddity that greeted researchers and other staffers on their way into the office.

The surprise shroud is mostly pink and purple, with splotches of black and teal, turning the the bronzed image of Einstein sitting in repose into something resembling a pastel monster.

The likely culprit is the yarn-bombing artist Olek, a Polish-born crocheter and sculptor whose principal motif is to drape large objects and public installations in colorful yarn. Her best-known example of this came in 2010 with “Knitting Is for Pussies,” in which she covered an entire Lower East Side apartment in yarn, right down to the mannequins standing in as tenants.

Olek, who lives in Brooklyn, is also among the artists featured in “40 Under 40,” an exhibition opening this weekend at the American Art Museum’s Renwick Gallery to celebrate the museum’s four-decade-old craft and decorative arts program.

Neither the American Art Museum nor Olek returned DCist’s phone calls, but the artist, in a tweet, essentially admitted to placing Einstein under wraps:

Filed Under: 40 under 40, albert einstein, national academy of sciences, olek, renwick gallery, yarn-bombing,