Just Stop Oil eco-warriors were glued to the frame of a painting of Constable The Hay Wain at the National Gallery. The protesters, who said they were a couple, shouted their demands for the government to end new oil and gas drilling as their hands were stuck to the masterpiece described as one of the “greatest and most popular English paintings” of all time. Student activist Hannah Hunt, 23, shouted at onlookers: “Yes my hand is stuck to this painting but there is blood on the government’s hands.” A spokesman for the National Gallery said police had been called to the exhibition, which was closed to the public.
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Widely regarded as John Constable’s most famous landscape, the six-foot Hay Wain (1821) shows an idyllic rural scene with a cart on the River Stour in Suffolk. Campaigners also dropped a redesigned version over the masterpiece that “depicts a nightmare scene showing how oil will destroy our countryside”. The group said in a statement: “The river has been replaced by a road, airplanes fill the sky, pollution from cities on the horizon, trees burned by wildfires, an old car dumped in front of the Mill and the famous Hay Wain cart carries an old washing machine.” Ms Hunt, a psychology student from Brighton, said: “I’m here because our government plans to license 40 new oil and gas projects in the UK over the next few years. “This makes them complicit in pushing the world towards an unsustainable climate and the deaths of billions of people in the coming decades.” Fellow activist Eben Lazarus described himself as an art lover. He said: “Art is important. It should be preserved for future generations to see, but when there is no food what use is art. “When there is no water, what use is art. When billions of people are in pain and suffering, then what is the use of art.” He added: “We’ve covered the Hay Wain with a redesigned version that illustrates the impact of our fossil fuel addiction on our countryside. “The painting is an important part of our heritage, but it is no more important than the 3.5 billion men, women and children already at risk because of the climate crisis.” A spokesman for the National Gallery said the gallery was closed to the public and the police had been called. They later said: “The painting has been removed from the wall to be examined by our conservation team. The Hay Wain suffered minor damage to its frame and there was also some disturbance to the varnish surface on the painting – both of which have now been successfully addressed. “The painting will be rehung in room 34, ready when the National Gallery opens at 10am on Tuesday.” A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police said: “At approximately 2.25pm on Monday, officers were called to a protest which took place inside the National Gallery involving two people.” In 2013, a protester, allegedly associated with Fathers 4 Justice, stuck a photo of a young boy on the painting while it was on display at the National Gallery. The project was not permanently damaged.
