| R v Plummer and Holland | |
|---|---|
 The version of Sunflowers involved in the protest | |
| Court | Southwark Crown Court |
| Decided | 27 September 2024 |
| Court membership | |
| Judge sitting | Christopher Hehir |
On 14 October 2022, two members of Just Stop Oil named Phoebe Plummer and Anna Holland threw two tins of soup at a Sunflowers painting by Vincent van Gogh at the National Gallery in London. They then glued themselves to the wall and asked the crowd whether they were more concerned by the protest or the effects of climate change on the planet. They had been inspired to do so by the decrease in media coverage of the organisation's activism and selected that painting due to its vulnerability. Their act earned the pair worldwide censure and queerphobic abuse and caused £10,000 worth of damage to the picture's frame but inspired several subsequent activists to throw other foodstuffs at other paintings. The pair were convicted of criminal damage in July 2024 by Christopher Hehir, who sentenced Plummer to 24 months in prison and Holland to 20 months in September 2024.