TWO Just Stop Oil (JSO) activists who threw soup over Vincent van Gogh’s Sunflowers painting have been found guilty of criminal damage and told to expect jail time.
Phoebe Plummer and Anna Holland threw two tins of Heinz tomato soup over the painting, which is protected by glass, in October 2022.
The pair then glued themselves beneath the artwork in an action to demand the then-Tory government halt all new oil and gas projects.
Although Labour agreed with the ban and implemented it when it took government, the two activists have been told to expect prison time.
The trial at Southwark Crown Court was overseen by Judge Christopher Hehir, who handed out record sentences totalling 21 years to five activists from the group this month.
On Thursday, he found the pair guilty of criminal damage exceeding £5,000.
The National Gallery, where the artwork was displayed, previously said that there was “minor damage” to the frame, but the painting was unharmed.
…
JSO pair told to expect jail over soup on painting
At Southwark Crown Court, Judge Christopher Hehir told the pair to be “prepared in practical and emotional terms to go to prison” when they are sentenced on 27 September.
Judge Hehir said they “came within the width of a pane of glass of destroying one of the most valuable artworks in the world”.
He set bail conditions for Plummer, of Clapham in south-west London, and Holland, of Newcastle, which stipulate they must not carry glue, paint or any adhesive substance in a public place, and must not visit any galleries or museums.
Last week, the same judge sentenced five JSO activists to jail terms of between four and five years.
The court heard how Plummer said in front of the painting in 2022: “What is worth more, art or life? Is it worth more than food? Worth more than justice?
“Are you more concerned about the protection of a painting, or the protection of our planet and people?
“The cost-of-living crisis is part of the cost-of-oil crisis.”
…