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two Just Stop Oil eco-warriors stuck to the frame of a painting by Constable The Hay Wain in the National Gallery.
The protesters, who said they were a couple, shouted their demands for the government to stop new oil and gas extraction as their hands were glued to the masterpiece, described as one of the “greatest and most popular English paintings” ever.
Student activist Hannah Hunt, 23, shouted at onlookers: “Yes, my hand is glued 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 Wayne (1821) shows an idyllic rural scene with a cart on the River Stour in Suffolk.
Activists also put a reimagined version on the masterpiece that “depicts a nightmarish scene that demonstrates how oil will destroy our countryside.”
The group said in a statement: “The river has been replaced by a road, planes fill the sky, pollution belches from cities on the horizon, trees are scorched by forest fires, an old car is dumped in front of the mill and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 uninhabitable climate and in the deaths of billions of people in the coming decades.”
Another activist, Eben Lazarus, describes 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 good is art.
“When there is no water, what is the use of art. When billions of people are in pain and suffering, what good is art.”
He added: “We’ve covered Hay Wain with a reimagined 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 room was closed to the public and the police had been called.
They said later: “The painting was removed from the wall to be examined by our conservation team. The Hay Wain suffered minor damage to its frame and also had some damage to the varnish surface on the painting – both of which have now been successfully repaired.
“The painting will be rehung in room 34 ready for the opening of the National Gallery at 10am on Tuesday.”
A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: “At approximately 2.25pm on Monday, officers were called to a protest which took place at the National Gallery, involving two people.”
In 2013, a protester reportedly associated with Fathers 4 Justice pasted a photograph of a young boy over the painting while it was on display at the National Gallery.
The work is not permanently damaged.
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