Environmental activists have hurled tomato soup at two Sunflowers works by Vincent van Gogh on show in the exhibition Van Gogh: Poets and Lovers at the National Gallery in London.
One of the works—Sunflowers (1888, National Gallery, London)—was previously the target of a similar incident in October 2022, for which Just Stop Oil activists Phoebe Plummer and Anna Holland received prison sentences earlier today (27 September). The second work involved in this most recent stunt was Sunflowers (1889, Philadelphia Museum of Art).
In an online statement, Just Stop Oil said that its supporters took part in the protest as “a sign of defiance after the original soup throwers, Plummer and Holland were imprisoned for up to two years at Southwark Crown Court today”.
At around 2:30pm, “three supporters of Just Stop Oil entered the Van Gogh exhibition at the National Gallery and proceeded to throw Heinz vegetable soup over two Van Gogh masterpieces: Sunflowers (1889) and Sunflowers (1888). The latter was splashed with soup by Plummer and Holland in 2022”, say the campaigners.
Ludi Simpson, one of the protestors involved in today’s actions, said: “We will be held accountable for our actions today, and we will face the full force of the law. When will the fossil fuel executives and the politicians they’ve bought be held accountable for the criminal damage that they are imposing on every living thing?”
The National Gallery says in a statement that the demonstrators “appeared to throw a soup-like substance over two works…. police were called and three people have been arrested. The paintings were removed from display and examined by a conservator. The paintings are unharmed. We are aiming to reopen the exhibition as soon as possible.”
