Two Just Stop Oil activists have been found guilty of causing criminal damage after gluing themselves to the frame of a Vincent van Gogh painting at the Courtauld Gallery in London. Emily Brocklebank, 24, and Louis McKechnie, 22, caused nearly £2,000 of damage to the 18th-century frame of the 1889 work Peach Trees in Blossom, Westminster Magistrates' Court heard on Tuesday.
District Judge Neeta Minhas said the frame had been permanently damaged and could not be returned to its original state. “The painting has significant, historical and art value and I consider the damage to be substantial. It is not minor, insignificant, temporary or trivial,” she added.
The court heard that the activists entered the gallery on 30 June after buying tickets, then removed their jackets to reveal orange Just Stop Oil T-shirts and attached themselves to the artwork. CCTV footage showed the incident. A curator, Karen Serres, testified that it took three hours to remove the activists and that there were concerns about glue seeping into the frame and painting, as well as the solvent used by police.
Brocklebank told the court: “When it comes to protesting, just speaking does not get a platform. By gluing, it gives a story which the media chooses to follow.” She added that the painting's owner would have “consented” to the protest. However, Serres dismissed a defence suggestion that the damage might increase the painting's value, saying: “Absolutely not.”
Brocklebank received a 21-day sentence suspended for six months and a six-week curfew, while McKechnie was jailed for three weeks. A third activist, Xavier Gonzales-Trimmer, had charges dropped but was fined for failing to appear at court.
