London’s National Gallery is stepping up security controls after being the target of protests by environmentalists and pro-Palestinian activists who attacked works in its collection.
The foundation claims that there was “victim of five different attacks” since July 2022. The works, which are protected by showcases, were not damaged in these attacks, but their frames were in some cases destroyed.
“Unfortunately, we have reached a point where we are forced to take measures to protect our visitors, our workers and the collection,” explained the museum in a press release.
“No liquids will be allowed”
From tomorrow, “no liquids will be allowed in the National Gallery”, with the exception of baby milk and prescription medicines, he highlights.
Entry to the National Gallery, located in the heart of London, close to Trafalgar Square, is free, as is the case with all public museums in Great Britain. Guests pass through a security gate and a police officer may search their bags.
One week after an “attack” on a Picasso painting
This announcement comes a week after two pro-Palestinian activists from the organization Youth Demand briefly covered Picasso’s painting “Maternity” (1901) with a photograph showing a mother and her child, covered in blood in the Gaza Strip.
In late September, two environmental activists from the group Just Stop Oil threw soup on two paintings of Van Gogh’s Sunflowers. Two members of the same organization did the same with one of the Girassóis, in July 2022. They were sentenced to prison terms.
In its statement, the National Gallery also refers to incidents against John Constable’s The Haystack in 2022 and Diego Velázquez’s Venus in the Looking Glass in 2023.
Sources: AMPE, AFP