Why did climate activists Attack Van Gogh’s ‘Sunflowers’?

Protesters against fossil fuels threw soup at Vincent van Gogh’s famous 1888 painting “Sunflowers” at London’s National Gallery on Friday, October 14, 2022.

Two young women from the campaign group Just Stop Oil threw the contents of two tins of Heinz tomato soup over the painting, which has an estimated value of $84.2 million, according to the group.

They were then glued to the wall beneath the painting. The National Gallery confirmed the incident in Room 43, where “Sunflowers” was on display, and provided an update on its condition in a statement posted on Twitter.

“The frame has minor damage, but the painting is undamaged,” it said. The gallery later explained in a tweet that the painting was glazed and thus protected.

The incident on Friday is the latest in a series of protests aimed at drawing attention to the role of fossil fuels in climate change.

Just Stop Oil members glued themselves to a copy of Leonardo da Vinci’s “The Last Supper” at the Royal Academy of Art in London in July 2022.