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National Gallery protestors found guilty of criminal damage

Soup was thrown over Vincent van Gogh’s ‘Sunflowers before they glued themselves to the wall.

Two Just Stop Oil supporters, Phoebe Plummer and Anna Holland, who threw soup over Vincent van Gogh’s “Sunflowers” at the National Gallery, have been found guilty of criminal damage exceeding £5,000.

In October 2022, the two Just Stop Oil supporters entered Room 43 of the National Gallery in Trafalgar Square, where Vincent van Gogh’s ‘Sunflowers’ is displayed. They then threw the contents of two tins of Heinz Tomato soup over the painting, which is protected by glass, and glued themselves to the wall beneath the artwork.

In a statement from 2022, the National gallery reported “some minor damage to the frame” but said the painting was “unharmed”.

Just Stop Oil said Judge Hehir had  “preemptively dismissed all legal defences, including the defence of ‘proportionality’ and the defendants’ Article 10 rights under the Human Rights Act 1998, without hearing any evidence from either side”.

Judge Hehir has warned the demonstrators to expect a custodial sentence. Sentencing will occur on 27th September.