Three Just Stop Oil activists on Friday threw soup on Vincent van Gogh artworks in the United Kingdom, just hours after a British judge sentenced two climate activists for a similar act in 2022.
The activists hurled tomato soup at two paintings from the “Sunflowers” series, one of the targeted artworks, owned by the London Gallery, which previously been subjected to a similar attack two years ago, and the other painting, on loan from the Philadelphia Museum of Art, was part of a temporary exhibition.
According to the National Gallery, the incident resulted in the arrest of three individuals, while the paintings remained unharmed.
The protest occurred mere hours after the sentencing of Phoebe Plummer (23) and Anna Holland (22) for their involvement in a previous incident in October 2022, where the duo had thrown tins of tomato soup at the National Gallery in London artwork before gluing themselves to the wall beneath the painting.
Although Plummer and Holland pleaded not guilty during their trial at London’s Southwark Crown Court, they were found guilty of causing criminal damage to the painting’s frame.
Prosecutors revealed that the soup had caused damage to the frame, amounting to approximately 10,000 pounds ($13,385) in 2022. However, the painting itself was protected by a screen and remained unharmed, allowing it to be put back on display the same day.
Plummer received a two-year prison sentence, while Holland was sentenced to 20 months in prison.