LONDON — A gang of climate activists vandalized a pair of paintings by Dutch master Vincent van Gogh at London’s National Gallery on Friday, splattering what seemed to be tomato soup on them, soon after two other activists were imprisoned for a similar action two years ago.
The paintings from Van Gogh’s “Sunflowers” series, which he created at Arles, south of France, were not damaged due to protective glass coverings. The gallery identified the two as its own Sunflowers (1888) and Sunflowers (1889), which were on loan from the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
The three activists from the Just Stop Oil environmental group who participated in the attack were arrested while the paintings were removed, evaluated, and returned to their original location. The gallery announced that the exhibition would reopen later on Friday.
Van Gogh Paintings Vandalized At A London Gallery After 2 Activists Were Sentenced In Similar Attack
The organization shared a video of the attack on social media, which showed three persons pouring soup on the paintings. The action appeared to be in protest of the earlier Friday sentencing of two other members from the group, Phoebe Plummer, 23, and Anna Holland, 22.
For their October 2022 attack on a “Sunflowers” painting, Plummer was sentenced to two years in prison and Holland to 20 months. The two women flung tins of tomato soup at the artwork before kneeling in front of it and gluing their hands to the wall underneath it. They were convicted of criminal damage by a jury in July.
Both attacks, in 2022 and on Friday, were carried out by demonstrators wearing Just Stop Oil T-shirts. The organization has been lobbying the British government to prevent new oil and gas developments and has staged high-profile stunts, notably at major sporting events and on Britain’s transit systems.
In Friday’s video, one of the nameless activists stated that future generations will remember them as “prisoners of conscience” who were “on the right side of history.”
In the 2022 attack, the gold-colored frame of Van Gogh’s painting was damaged by 10,000 pounds ($13,000). At the time, museum staff were concerned that the soup would have seeped through and caused extensive damage to the painting.
In Friday’s punishment, Judge Christopher Hehir stated that the artwork may have been “seriously damaged or even destroyed.”
Hehir was also the judge in the case involving Roger Hallam, a co-founder of Just Stop Oil and Extinction Rebellion, another environmental activist group, who was convicted for five years.
On Friday, he aimed at Plummer. “You clearly think your beliefs give you the right to commit crimes when you feel like it,” added the pastor. “You do not.”
Van Gogh Paintings Vandalized At A London Gallery After 2 Activists Were Sentenced In Similar Attack
Plummer, who represented herself and pleaded guilty, stated at the court that she would accept “with a smile” whatever verdict was returned.
Plummer was arrested five days after her guilty verdict in July for spraying paint on Heathrow Airport’s departure boards.
Holland’s lawyer, Raj Chada, said the two women made sure the “Sunflowers” were secured by a glass cover before throwing the soup.
SOURCE | AP
