Just Stop Oil Activists Jailed for Two Years and 20 Months for Throwing Soup on Van Gogh's 'Sunflowers'

Sep 27, 2024, 02:22 PM

Two Just Stop Oil activists, Phoebe Plummer, 23, and Anna Holland, 22, have been sentenced to prison for throwing tomato soup over Vincent van Gogh's 'Sunflowers' painting at London's National Gallery in October 2022. Plummer received a two-year sentence, while Holland was sentenced to 20 months. The activists were found guilty of criminal damage in July at Southwark Crown Court. The protest, which aimed to draw attention to climate change, has sparked a debate among art professionals and the public. Some artists and curators have defended the activists, arguing that their actions fall within a tradition of creative iconoclasm. However, the stunt has been widely condemned as 'criminally idiotic'. The soup was thrown over the painting's glass frame, damaging the antique frame but not the painting itself. Following the sentencing, three more Just Stop Oil supporters threw soup over two other Van Gogh paintings at the National Gallery in a sign of defiance.