On Friday, three Just Stop Oil activists threw soup over two “Sunflowers” paintings by Vincent van Gogh in London’s National Gallery. The incident occurred just hours after two other members of the protest group were sentenced to prison for similar acts in 2022.
The gallery said in a statement that a “soup-like substance” was thrown over “Sunflowers” (1888) and “Sunflowers” (1889) and three people were arrested.
The Just Stop Oil group (JSO) described its latest action as a “sign of defiance” as two of its members were jailed on Friday for throwing soup on Vincent van Gogh’s “Sunflowers” (1888) in October 2022.
BREAKING: 2 Van Gogh paintings revealed hours after Phoebe and Anna were sentenced
3 Just Stop Oil supporters have thrown soup over 2 Van Gogh paintings at the ‘Poets and Lovers’ exhibition at the National Gallery.
➡️ Support people in resistance: pic.twitter.com/Tc3Bvd10OB
– Just Stop Oil (@JustStop_Oil) 27 September 2024
The event is part of a broader series of protests by JSO, which advocates ending the extraction and burning of fossil fuels. These protests have led to increasingly harsh reactions from authorities, AFP Informed.
In July, Phoebe Plummer, 23, and Anna Holland, 22, were found guilty of criminal damage for pouring tomato soup on the protective screen covering the famous painting. Plummer received a two-year prison sentence on Friday, while Holland was sentenced to 20 months. Both of them had declared themselves innocent.
Will McCallum, co-executive director of Greenpeace UK, condemned the sentences as “harsh and disproportionate” to what he described as minor damage to the picture frame.
However, Judge Christopher Hehir, who sentenced the activists, argued that the painting “could have been seriously damaged or even destroyed.” He criticized the pair for their indifference, saying, “You had no right to do what you did with ‘Sunflower’.”
Supporters of Plummer and Holland gathered outside Southwark Crown Court with banners declaring them “political prisoners”. The judge rejected this notion as “ridiculous, outrageous and foolish”. He told Plummer, “You think your faith gives you the right to do anything.”
The National Gallery reported that protesters caused approximately $13,420 worth of damage to the frame, but did not cause any damage to the painting, protected by a screen. Holland and Plummer also pinned themselves to the gallery wall during the protest.
Plummer has already been on remand for 58 days for another protest at London’s Heathrow airport in July. McCallum described the sentencing as “another serious milestone in the ongoing crackdown on peaceful protests” and said protests are inherently “uncomfortable and sometimes messy”.
Holland said before sentencing that prison would not stop his activism.
JSO identified those involved in Friday’s protest as 24-year-old Phil Green, 71-year-old Ludi Simpson and 77-year-old Mary Patricia Somerville, who confirmed they threw soup on the paintings. “We will face the full force of the law,” Simpson said in question. He questioned when fossil fuel executives and politicians would be held accountable for the damage they are causing to the environment.
The gallery confirmed that the paintings were examined by a conservator and found to have no damage, with plans to reopen the exhibition as soon as possible.
