Two Just Stop Oil activists who threw tinned soup over Vincent van Gogh’s Sunflowers have been found guilty of criminal damage.
Anna Holland, of Newcastle, and Phoebe Plummer, of Clapham in south-west London, both 22, were convicted at Southwark Crown Court and will be sentenced on 27 September.
In October 2022, the pair threw two tins of tomato soup on to the painting at the National Gallery in central London, later gluing their hands to the wall beneath it.
The gallery previously said the gold-coloured frame of the glass-covered painting was damaged in the attack.
A number of Just Stop Oil supporters were present in the courtroom as the verdict was delivered.
Holland’s and Plummer’s bail conditions stipulate that they must not carry glue, paint or any adhesive substance in a public place, and must not visit any galleries or museums.
In 2022, Plummer said in front of the painting: “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.”
The protesters were later seen being bundled into a police van at the back entrance of the gallery.
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