Vincent Van Gogh’s 1888 ‘Sunflowers’ Art Vandalists to Receive Lengthy Jail Time

By Thea Felicity | Sep 30, 2024 08:03 AM EDT

Just Stop Oil protestors who hurled tomato soup on an 1888 Vincent Van Gogh Sunflowers artwork will be facing jail time.

According to ART News, the two activists who stormed the National Gallery at London in October 2022 received two different sentences. Phoebe Plummer will be behind bars for two years and three months, and 20 months for Anna Holland.

On September 27, the Southwark court in London, as ordered by Judge Christopher Hehir, told Politico that the pair has no concerns for the iconic century-old painting. Hehir reasoned that the tomato soup could've destroyed the painting if it managed to seep through the glass.

Also Read: Van Gogh's Starry Night Reveals Hidden Scientific Patterns-Here's What Physicists Say

Just Stop Oil Protestors on Vincent Van Gogh's Sunflowers (1888)

Visitors look at the painting 'Sunflowers' by Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890) at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam on September 30, 2016. Two Van Gogh masterpieces stolen in Amsterdam 14 years ago have been recovered from the home of a notorious Italian drug boss near Naples, Italian and museum officials announced on September 30, 2016. The 1882 "Seascape at Scheveningen" and 1884/85 "Congregation leaving the Reformed Church at Nuenen" were "recovered during a massive, continuing investigation... conducted by a specialised Italian prosecutions team investigating organised crime," the Van Gogh Museum said in a statement.
(Photo : FREEK VAN DEN BERGH/AFP via Getty Images)

In the same ART News article, it was reported that while the painting itself was not affected, the 17th-century frame from Italy suffered minor damage.

To explain their side, Plummer stated that they're not hoping to paint Sunflowers with tomato soup. Rather, they wish to have a conversation with authorities so they can "ask the questions that matter." However, the London court did not see any justification for their actions.

The pair already received their criminal charges earlier this year and was told to be "prepared" to go to prison.

Just Stop Oil's protestors are not amateurs in this case, as they've been committing gestures to force the UK government to actively respond to and address the climate crisis in the country. Earlier this year, Design Times reported that two of the group's activists attempted to vandalize Taylor Swfit's jet.

While not everyone was moved by their actions, there are artists who show support to their soup stint. The Guardian learned that more than 100 artists last week, on Thursday, created and signed a letter to please Plummer and Holland's jail time. The letter was organized by groups, such as Greenpeace UK and Liberate Tate, that have been protesting fossil fuel in art museums.

Besides art professionals, historians and academic professionals also joined the open letter, explaining that the pair used Campbell's soup, which symbolizes art's connection in everyday life-a classic example of iconoclasm.

Vincent Van Gogh’s 1888 ‘Sunflowers’ Art Vandalists to Receive Lengthy Jail Time

Just Stop Oil Protestors on Vincent Van Gogh's Sunflowers (1888)

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