Three climate activists have been arrested after throwing soup over two Van Gogh paintings at London’s National Gallery, just hours after two Just Stop Oil (JSO) protesters were given prison sentences for the same action.

A spokesperson for the National Gallery said the two Sunflowers paintings had been removed from display to be examined by a conservator. The works have not been damaged and the museum is aiming to reopen the blockbuster exhibition as soon as possible.

Earlier today at Southwark Crown Court in London, Phoebe Plummer, 23, and Anna Holland, 22, were sentenced to jail for two years and 20 months respectively after being convicted of criminal activity when they threw tomato soup over Van Gogh’s Sunflowers (1888) painting in October 2022 to raise awareness about climate change.

In protest of the jail terms, at around 2:30 p.m., three supporters of Just Stop Oil entered the recently opened “Van Gogh: Poets and Lovers” exhibition at the National Gallery and proceeded to throw Heinz vegetable soup over two Van Gogh masterpieces, including the same Sunflowers work Plummer and Holland had previously targeted, as well as another Sunflowers canvas from 1889 that is on loan for the exhibition from the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

After flinging soup at the same Sunflowers painting targeted by Plummer and Holland, one of the activists, Phil Green, chanted: “There are people in prison for demanding an end to new oil and gas, something which is now government policy. After sustained disruptive actions, countless headlines, and the resulting political pressure, future generations will regard these prisoners of conscience to be on the right side of history.”

“We will be held accountable for our actions today, and we will face the full force of the law,” one of the activists, Ludi Simpson, said. “When will the fossil fuel executives and the politicians they’ve bought be held accountable for the criminal damage that they are imposing on every living thing?”

A Just Stop Oil activist throws soup at Van Gogh’s Sunflowers paintings at the “Lovers and Poets” exhibition at the National Gallery in London on February September 27. Photo: Just Stop Oil.

According to a statement, JSO is demanding that governments work together to establish a fossil fuel treaty, to end the extraction and burning of oil, gas, and coal by 2030. After launching the soup at the paintings, JSO support Phil Green told onlookers that “future generations will regard these prisoners of conscience to be on the right side of history,” referencing Plummer and Holland, as well as the roughly two dozen other JSO activists that have faced jail time for protesting.

In July, five JSO activists were handed jail sentences ranging from four to five years for conspiracy to cause public nuisance when they tried to recruit volunteers to take part in a large scale protest on the M25 in November 2022. These sentences are believed to be the longest ever for non-violent protest in U.K. history.

Members of the public queue to enter the “Van Gogh: Poets and Lovers” exhibition at the National Gallery in Central London on September 27, 2024. Photo: Henry Nicholls/AFP via Getty Images.

On September 26, an open letter was published in defense of Plummer and Holland, arguing that the demonstration was itself a legitimate work of art. In a letter published by Greenpeace, the authors claimed: “These activists should not receive custodial sentences for an act that connects entirely to the artistic canon.” They described the thrown soup as “a Pollock-esque splatter across the mustard yellow, drooping blooms” and “a sight to behold.”

Fiona Banner, Peter Kennard, and Tania Bruguera were among the visual artists to put their name to the letter. Other signatories included musicians, actors, fashion designers, curators, and academics.

Today’s attack marks the third time in two years that a work at the National Gallery has been targeted in a protest action. In July 2022, two activists glued themselves to John Constable’s The Hay Wain.

A spokesperson for the Philadelphia Museum of Art, which loaned one of the Sunflowers paintings to the landmark exhibition, said the National Gallery had been in contact with them and “let us know that the painting has been cleaned and there is no permanent damage.”

This is a breaking news story and will be updated.