Vandal slashes $4 million painting inside US gallery

A man has been filmed walking into a US art gallery and slashing a painting worth $4 million.

CCTV released by Aspen Police shows the offender walking into the Opera Gallery about 4pm Tuesday.

The man props open the gallery door, then walks over to a wall-sized painting by New York artist Christopher Wool and cuts it, the Aspen Times reported.

Police believe the man used either a razor or knife to destroy the painting.

Gallery owner Gregory Lahmi told the newspaper he had “no idea” why the artwork had been targeted.

He said the offender had paid "no attention" to other paintings in the gallery, including one by Pablo Picasso, during the 15-second incident.

Mr Lahmi said he had received three suspicious calls asking if the gallery had a “Christopher Wool” painting.

The painting, titled "Untitled 2004" had reportedly been sold on consignment for $3.98 million.

Police are searching for the vandal.