The famous Sunflowers painting was targeted in London’s National Gallery (Picture: REX)
Two women have been charged with criminal damage after a tin of soup was thrown at a treasured work of art.
Just Stop Oil protesters launched a tin of Heinz at Vincent Van Gogh’s famous Sunflowers painting in the National Gallery yesterday.
Video of the shocking stunt was circulated on social media and two people were arrested at the scene after gluing themselves to a wall.
Anna Holland, 20, of Newcastle, and Phoebe Plummer, 21, of Clapham, south London, have both been charged with criminal damage.
They are due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court later today.
Footage from the scene showed one of the women conducting a rambling tirade from below the painting, saying: ‘What is worth more, art of life?
‘Is it worth more than food, worth more than justice?
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‘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. Fuel is unaffordable to millions of cold hungry families.
‘They can’t even afford to heat a tin of soup,’ they added, waving one of the two soup cans.
Security escorted visitors out of room 43 of the gallery before shutting the doors.
Lora Johnson, 38, of Southwold, has been arrested and charged over a separate stunt by the same group.
A sign outside New Scotland Yard, the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police, was covered in orange paint yesterday afternoon, the latest in a string of stunt organised by the group.
The protesters glued themselves to a wall after throwing soup over the painting (Picture: Shutterstock)
They were seen being led away by police officers carrying tins of soup in an evidence bag (Picture: Getty)
A National Gallery spokesperson confirmed to Metro.co.uk that Sunflowers is now ‘back on display’.
They added: ‘At just after 11am this morning two people entered Room 43 of the National Gallery.
‘The pair appeared to glue themselves to the wall adjacent to Van Gogh’s ‘Sunflowers’ (1888). They also threw a red substance – what appears to be tomato soup – over the painting.
‘The room was cleared of visitors and police were called. Officers are now on the scene.
‘There is some minor damage to the frame but the painting is unharmed.’
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Two women are due in court after soup was launched at a much-loved painting in the National Gallery.