Just Stop Oil activists have poured soup over two Vincent Van Gogh paintings at the National Gallery. In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, Just Stop Oil said: "BREAKING: 2 VAN GOGH PAINTINGS SOUPED... 3 Just Stop Oil supporters have thrown soup over 2 of Van Gogh('s) paintings in the 'Poets and Lovers' exhibition at the National Gallery".
The post featured a video of the activists vandalising the artwork before telling an angry crowd: "There are people in prison for demanding an end to new oil and gas, something which is now government policy after sustained, disruptive actions, countless headlines and the resulting political pressure. Future generations will regard these prisoners of conscience to be on the right side of history."
The National Gallery confirmed the three activists had been arrested and the paintings remain unharmed. A statement said: "At just after 2.30pm this afternoon, three people entered Room 6 of the National Gallery Van Gogh: Poets and Lovers exhibition. They appeared to throw a soup like substance over two works – Sunflowers (1888, National Gallery, London) and Sunflowers (1889, Philadelphia Museum of Art). Police were called and three people have been arrested. The paintings were removed from display and examined by a conservator and are unharmed. We are aiming to reopen the exhibition as soon as possible."
The protesters targeted the National Gallery's Van Gogh exhibition, demanding an end to new oil and gas projects. This action came just hours after two other Just Stop Oil members, Phoebe Plummer, 23, and Anna Holland, 22, were jailed on Friday for a similar protest that caused up to £10,000 worth of damage to a Van Gogh painting's gold frame in October 2022.