A pair of paintings by Dutch maestro Vincent van Gogh at London’s National Gallery were vandalized Friday when climate activists splattered what appeared to be tomato soup on them. The incident came just hours after two activists with the Just Stop Oil environmental group were sentenced to at least 20 months in prison for a similar act two nearly two years ago.
The paintings from Van Gogh’s “Sunflowers” series, which he painted in Arles in the south of France, were not damaged on Friday thanks to protective glass coverings. The gallery identified the two paintings as its own “Sunflowers” from 1888 and “Sunflowers” from 1889 on loan from the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
The three activists – also with Just Stop Oil – involved in Friday’s incident were arrested while the paintings were removed, examined and then returned to their location. The gallery said the exhibition would reopen later on Friday.
The group posted a video of the attack on social media, showing three people throwing soup at the paintings. The action was apparently in protests against the sentencing earlier Friday of two other activists from the group, Phoebe Plummer, 23, and Anna Holland, 22.
Eco-activists sentenced to prison
Plummer received a two-year sentence while Holland was sent to prison for 20 months earlier Friday.
In October 2022, the pair threw two cans of Heinz tomato soup over the artwork at London’s National Gallery before kneeling in front of it. They then glued their hands to the wall beneath the painting.
According to Just Stop Oil, the pair were demanding the U.K. government halt all new oil and gas projects.
Just Stop Oil / Handout/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
In a post on X at the time, the activist group blamed the current economic turmoil and the climate crisis facing the world on fossil fuels, asking: “Is art worth more than life? More than food?”
The pair were found guilty of criminal damage by a jury in July.
In sentencing the two activists Friday, Judge Christopher Hehir said the artwork could have been “seriously damaged or even destroyed.”
Hehir was also the judge in the case against Roger Hallam, the co-founder of Just Stop Oil and Extinction Rebellion, another environmental campaigning group, and had sentenced him to five years.
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On Friday, he took aim at Plummer.
“You clearly think your beliefs give you the right to commit crimes when you feel like it,” he said. “You do not.”
Plummer, who represented herself and who had pleaded guilty, told the hearing that she would accept “with a smile” whatever verdict came her way.
“It is not just myself being sentenced today, or my co-defendants, but the foundations of democracy itself,” she said.
Five days after her guilty verdict in July, Plummer was arrested for spraying paint on departure boards at Heathrow Airport.
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Lawyer Raj Chada, defending Holland, said the two women checked that the “Sunflowers” was protected by a glass cover before throwing the soup.
A number of Just Stop Oil supporters gathered outside the court, some holding posters of historical figures jailed for activism.
HENRY NICHOLLS/AFP via Getty Images
Over the past few years, Just Stop Oil has been behind a series of high-profile stunts, including at major sporting events and on Britain’s transport networks. The attack on “Sunflowers” was the second artwork at the National Gallery targeted in 2022, after two Just Stop Oil activists glued themselves to John Constable’s “The Hay Wain.”
Van Gogh’s 1888 masterpiece, painted in Arles in the south of France, was not damaged in the 2022 attack as it was covered by protective glass.
However, the gold-colored frame suffered $13,000 worth of damage. Museum staff had worried that the soup could have dripped through and caused immeasurable damage to the painting.
In June, activists with the group sprayed several of the ancient stones of Britain’s iconic Stonehenge site with an orange substance. A video released by the group showed two activists running toward the prehistoric stones of the UNESCO World Heritage Site with what looked like fire extinguishers and then spraying them with what the group said was “orange paint powder.” Two people were arrested.
