Three Just Stop Oil Activists Banned From Protesting In London After Throwing Soup At Van Gogh Painting

Three climate activists from the group Just Stop Oil have been banned by a judge from protesting in London after throwing soup at a painting by Vincent van Gogh last month.

The judgment follows a series of peaceful protest actions by Just Stop Oil across the UK over the past week, including at the British Museum, and after museum directors issued an open letter demanding an end to demonstrations involving notable artworks.

Mary Somerville, 77, Stephen Simpson, 71, and Phil Green, 24, had thrown tomato soup at two paintings of sunflowers by Vincent van Gogh at the National Gallery in London on September 27, prompting charges for allegedly damaging the frames of the artworks. The protest took place one day after Just Stop Oil activists Phoebe Plummer and Anna Holland were sentenced to prison.

On October 28, Somerville, Simpson and Green pleaded not guilty in a London court to two counts of criminal damage. The three Just Stop Oil protestors were released on bail and their case will go to trial next January. Judge Alexander Milne has also barred the three Just Stop Oil activists from taking part in any protest action within the M25, the major ring road in London.

This past week, Just Stop Oil adorned several statues in high-visibility vests and speech bubbles. These included a bronze rendering of the Beatles in Liverpool, a statue of the Greek goddess Demeter at the British Museum, and a bronze statue of Nelson Mandela in London’s Parliament Square.

Parliament Square will also be the site of the “Politics is Broken” protest as part of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign’s National Palestine March on November 2.

An open letter from the National Museum Directors’ Council (NMDC) released on October 11 cited five incidents at London’s National Gallery since July 2022, including ones involving Just Stop Oil activists. The letter specifically noted the protests targeting Vincent van Gogh’s Sunflowers, John Constable’s The Haywain, and Diego Velázquez’s Rokeby Venus.

“They are hugely damaging to the reputation of UK museums and cause enormous stress for colleagues at every level of an organisation, along with visitors who now no longer feel safe visiting the nation’s finest museums and galleries,” stated the letter.

The news of the judge’s ban was first reported by Artnet.