October 14, 2022
Soup on the Sunflowers: The Protest That Stopped the Art World Cold
Two activists hurled tomato soup at Van Gogh's glass-protected 'Sunflowers' in London, igniting a global argument about art, protest and what we choose to protect.
On 14 October 2022, two Just Stop Oil activists walked into Room 43 of the National Gallery, opened two tins of Heinz tomato soup, and threw them at Vincent van Gogh's 1888 'Sunflowers' before gluing their hands to the wall. 'Are you more concerned about the protection of a painting, or the protection of our planet?' one asked the stunned room.
The painting itself — shielded behind glass — was unharmed, though its gilded frame suffered around £10,000 of damage. The image of orange soup dripping down one of the world's best-loved canvases ricocheted around the planet and spawned a wave of copycat protests at museums worldwide.
The debate it triggered never quite cooled. In 2024 the two activists, Phoebe Plummer and Anna Holland, were jailed for criminal damage. Whatever your view, the episode forced an uncomfortable question into the open: how do we weigh the things we treasure against the future we fear losing?
Image: “Vincent Willem van Gogh 128” — Vincent van Gogh, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.