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Mona Lisa smeared with cake. X.
On 11 October, 2024 the UK’s National Museum Directors’ Council (NMDC), National Museum Directors’ Council (NMDC), which represents the leaders of the UK’s national collections and major regional museums, issued an Open Letter on the actions by climate protesters that threaten to damage art. It reads:
“Over the past few years UK museums and galleries, the artworks they contain, and by extension the people who visit and those who work there, have increasingly become the targets of protest action.
Whilst we respect the right for people to protest, and are often sympathetic to the cause, these attacks have to stop. They are hugely damaging to the reputation of UK museums and cause enormous stress for colleagues at every level of an organisation, along with visitors who now no longer feel safe visiting the nation’s finest museums and galleries.
Since July 2022, the National Gallery alone has been the victim of five separate attacks on iconic paintings such as Vincent van Gogh’s Sunflowers, John Constable’s The Haywain and Velázquez’s Rokeby Venus. Such attacks
Ultima Generazione climate protesters glued to Laocoon at the Vatican. August 18, 2022. Courtesy Ultima Generazione.
have caused physical damage to the artworks, distress to visitors and staff alike, and disruption to our collective mission to ensure great art and artefacts are available for everyone, everywhere to enjoy. Two of these attacks have happened in the last two weeks, and that is why we have decided now is the moment for us to speak out.
Our UK museums and galleries are an integral part of society, where free access allows everyone to be inspired by humanity’s greatest achievements. The collections we hold are irreplaceable and with each attack we are forced to consider putting more barriers between the people and their artworks to preserve these fragile objects for future generations.The world is currently in a very dark place, but these demonstrations now need to be taken away from our museums and galleries so that they can continue to provide light and solace to all.”
This is not the first time that a group of museum directors have spoken out against such protests. In November of 2022, a letter issued by ICOM was signed by 92 museum directors. The letter came in response to a raft of protests involving artworks at the National Gallery in London, the Prado in Madrid and the Mauritshuis museum in The Hague. The 2022 letter stated, in part:
Futura Vegetal protesters glue themselves to Goya’s Maja Desnuda and Maja Vestida at the Prado, Madrid, November 2022.
“The activists responsible for them severely underestimate the fragility of these irreplaceable objects, which must be preserved as part of our world cultural heritage. As museum directors entrusted with the care of these works, we have been deeply shaken by their risky endangerment.”
“Museums are places where people from a wide variety of backgrounds can engage in dialogue and which therefore enable social discourse. In this sense, the core tasks of the museum as an institution—collecting, researching, sharing and preserving— are now more relevant than ever. We will continue to advocate for direct access to our cultural heritage. And we will maintain the museum as a free space for social communication.”
Just Stop Oil protesters throw tomato soup on Van Gogh Sunflowers at the National Gallery in London. Courtesy Just Stop OIl. October 14, 2022.
