Two activists from the environmental movement Just Stop Oil, who poured tomato soup on Vincent Van Gogh’s painting “Sunflowers” in London, were sentenced to prison terms of two years and 20 months, respectively, radio station LBC reported on Friday.
⠀
In October 2022, two young environmental activists from Just Stop Oil poured tomato soup on a Van Gogh painting in the National Gallery in London. The gallery’s press service reported that the canvas was not damaged, but minor damage to the frame was noted.
⠀
“Two Just Stop Oil activists have been sentenced to prison after they poured soup on a Vincent Van Gogh painting,” the station said in a statement.
⠀
Phoebe Plummer was sentenced to two years in prison, and Anna Holland was sentenced to 20 months, LBC reports. They were found guilty of causing unlawful damage. The cost of restoring the damaged 17th-century Italian frame was £10,000, the radio station reported.
⠀
Activists of the environmental movement Just Stop Oil have been holding protests for several years now, advocating for an end to oil and gas production. In 2022, they glued themselves to paintings in galleries, threw paint on the buildings of various organizations, and organized protests and demonstrations that caused traffic disruptions in central London. In April 2023, they disrupted the first round matches of the World Snooker Championship in Sheffield by staining the table with orange powder paint. Since then, they have repeatedly interrupted various sporting events, staged “slow marches” on roads, disrupting traffic, and also poured orange paint on university buildings across the country.
