On Friday, three activists from Just Stop Oil threw soup at two of Vincent van Gogh’s “Sunflowers” paintings at London’s National Gallery. This incident occurred just hours after two other members of the protest group were sentenced to prison for a similar act in 2022.
The gallery in a statement said “a soup-like substance” had been thrown over “Sunflowers” (1888) and “Sunflowers” (1889) and that three people had been arrested.
The Just Stop Oil group (JSO) described their latest action as a “sign of defiance” after two of its members were jailed earlier on Friday for throwing soup at Vincent van Gogh’s “Sunflowers” (1888) in October 2022.
🚨 BREAKING: 2 VAN GOGH PAINTINGS SOUPED HOURS AFTER PHOEBE AND ANNA SENTENCED
🥫 3 Just Stop Oil supporters have thrown soup over 2 of Van Gogh paintings in the ‘Poets and Lovers’ exhibition at the National Gallery.
➡️ Support people in resistance: https://t.co/Rh65arOwa1 pic.twitter.com/Tc3Bvd10OB
— Just Stop Oil (@JustStop_Oil) September 27, 2024
This incident is part of a broader series of protests by JSO, which advocates for ending the extraction and burning of fossil fuels. These demonstrations have led to increasingly strict responses from authorities, AFP reported.
In July, Phoebe Plummer, 23, and Anna Holland, 22, were found guilty of criminal damage for pouring tomato soup over the protective screen covering the famous painting. Plummer received a two-year prison sentence on Friday, while Holland was sentenced to 20 months. Both had pleaded not guilty.
Will McCallum, co-executive director of Greenpeace UK, condemned the sentences as “draconian and disproportionate” for 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, stating, “You had no right to do what you did to ‘Sunflowers’.”
Supporters of Plummer and Holland gathered outside Southwark Crown Court with banners declaring them “political prisoners.” The judge dismissed the notion, calling it “ludicrous, offensive and idiotic.” He told Plummer, “You think your beliefs entitle you to do anything.”
The National Gallery reported that while the protesters caused approximately $13,420 in damage to the frame, the painting itself remained unharmed, protected by a screen. Holland and Plummer had also glued themselves to the gallery wall during the protest.
Plummer had already served 58 days in remand for another protest at London’s Heathrow Airport in July. McCallum described the sentencing as “another grim milestone in the ongoing crackdown on peaceful protest,” adding that protests are naturally “inconvenient and occasionally messy.”
Holland, ahead of her sentencing, said prison would not deter their activism.
JSO identified those involved in Friday’s protest as Phil Green, 24, Ludi Simpson, 71, and Mary Patricia Somerville, 77, who confirmed they had thrown soup at the paintings. “We will face the full force of the law,” said Simpson, while questioning when fossil fuel executives and politicians would be held accountable for the environmental damage they are causing.
The gallery confirmed that the paintings were examined by a conservator and found to be unharmed, with plans to reopen the exhibition as soon as possible.