CHICAGO—Springing into action to defend the painting at all costs, local museum guard Mitchell Washington bravely threw himself in front of a priceless work of art in an attempt to shield it from a camera flash, bystanders confirmed Wednesday. “In situations like this, there’s no time to second guess yourself: you just make sure the painting is safe and let your training kick in,” said the veteran guard, 39, who explained that he had been patrolling the Painting and Sculpture of Europe room when he first noticed a suspicious visitor brandishing a camera with a prominent flash, stressing that his only concern from that moment on was protecting Gustave Caillebotte’s Paris Street; Rainy Day. “It was just instincts at that point. I dove in front of the perpetrator and shouted, ‘Sir, photography is not allowed in here!’ Last thing I remember was the light rays hitting me right in the eyes—I still can’t close them without seeing some bright tracers. Better me than the painting, though.” At press time, the guard had downplayed claims that he was a hero for his actions, saying that the true heroes were masterpieces like Caillebotte’s for their vast, unsettled depiction of bourgeois modernity.