Climate activists attacking art ‘severely underestimate’ fragility of works, gallery directors warn

Two protesters threw soup at Vincent Van Gogh’s famous 1888 work Sunflowers at the National Gallery in London. They caused no damage to the glass-covered painting. Photograph: Antonio Olmos/The Guardian

Climate activists targeting masterpieces around the world are not fully aware of how delicate the artworks are, the directors of almost 100 galleries have warned, saying they have been “deeply shaken” by the attacks.

This year, famous artworks have been attacked by protesters from various activist groups demanding action on the climate crisis. The incidents include a German environmental group throwing mashed potatoes at a Claude Monet painting in a Potsdam museum, activists from Just Stop Oil throwing tomato soup over Vincent van Gogh’s Sunflowers at the National Gallery in London, a group splashing pea soup on a van Gogh masterpiece in Rome, Extinction Rebellion campaigners targeting a Picasso painting in Melbourne, and activists gluing themselves to artworks by Botticelli, Boccioni, Van Gogh and other old masters.