Two women have appeared in court charged with criminal damage to the frame of Vincent van Gogh’s painting Sunflowers.
Two tins of tomato soup were thrown over the painting at London’s National Gallery on Friday, although the gallery later said the painting itself was undamaged and had been put back on display.
Anna Holland, 20, of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, and Phoebe Plummer, 21, of Clapham, south London, appeared before Westminster magistrates court on Saturday.
Painted in 1888, Sunflowers in the National Gallery is one of five versions on display at museums and galleries around the world.
Friday marked the 14th day of “continuous disruption” by the environmental protest group Just Stop Oil. The action is expected to last for more than a month.
The Metropolitan police said 28 arrests were made in relation to demonstrations in central London on Friday.
Lora Johnson, 38, of Reydon, Suffolk, also appeared in court on Saturday charged with criminal damage to the main sign outside New Scotland Yard.
The well-known sign was covered with yellow paint, and demonstrators blocked the road in front of the building.
The other 25 people had been bailed pending further inquiries, police said.
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/oct/15/just-stop-oil-protesters-charged-van-gogh-painting-soup-sunflowers
