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Attacks on art have to stop, say national museum directors
Open letter from NMDC outlines ‘hugely damaging’ impact of protests on institutions, staff and visitors
National museum directors have called on protesters to stop targeting art, following a wave of vandalism of artworks and heritage monuments.
In an open letter from the National Museum Directors’ Council (NMDC), the leaders of the UK’s national collections and major regional museums said the attacks on artworks “have to stop”.
The letter follows two incidents at London's National Gallery in less than a fortnight and an attack on Stonehenge earlier this year.
Activists have used the attacks to draw attention to a number of causes, including the climate crisis and Israel's war in Gaza.
The letter said the targeting of art was causing distress to museum staff and visitors.
NMDC wrote: “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.
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“While 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.”
The National Gallery been the victim of five separate attacks since 2022 on paintings such as Vincent van Gogh's Sunflowers, John Constable's The Haywain and Velázquez’s Rokeby Venus.
The letter said: “Such attacks 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.”
The letter said such attacks were putting a barrier between people and public collections by forcing institutions to take increasingly stringent security measures.
NMDC wrote: “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.”
A number of activists have been jailed since the spate of protests began in 2022. In September, two protesters from the climate action group Just Stop Oil received prison sentences of two years and 20 months, respectively, after throwing soup on a Van Gogh painting in 2022.
However the courts have sometimes differed in their judgment; two more Just Stop Oil protesters were acquitted earlier this month after gluing themselves to the frame of a JMW Turner painting at Manchester Art Gallery in 2022, after the district judge found that the action was proportionate in view of the climate crisis.
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I wholeheartedly agree with this. Protests should be directed against those with the power to make the changes called for, not irreplaceable heritage which is on show and available for free for anyone to enjoy
These actions achieve great publicity for the climate emergency at very little cost or disruption to the public.
I appreciate that the NMDC is composed of people who have reached top of a very competitive profession. As such they are probably extremely passionate about art, however as directors they should also understand the world their collections exist in. Increasing numbers of scientists are talking about societal collapse due to climate change. At the very least we can expect a huge increase in armed conflict and extremism. This is dangerous for art. Looking at pictures of Dresden, Hiroshima and Tokyo after WW2 or Gaza today it is clear that a great deal of damage must have occurred to art. The Taliban blew up the world’s tallest Buddhas, 1400 years old. There was a great deal of looting of ancient treasures in Iraq as a result of the war there. The Parthenon was destroyed in 1687 when the Venetians attacked the Ottomans there. The library of Alexandria, the greatest in the ancient world, was burned down, probably in a conflict.
In order to make their point they have greatly exaggerated. As academics this is unforgivable. They said that:-
Visitors and staff were targeted: not true.
Visitors no longer feel safe: probably not true, unless they have been falsely told by staff that they are being targeted.
There has been damage to artworks: not true in the plural. As far as I am aware the only painting to have been superficially damaged was the Rokeby Venus when its glass was cracked. It was already seriously damaged by suffragettes.
We are on course for 2.7 degrees of climate change by the end of the century according to the commitments made at COP 28. This is within the lifetime of today’s young children. At 3 degrees up to 30% of the world will be virtually uninhabitable due to lethal heatwaves. Agriculture (food supply) will be seriously affected, as population peaks at 10 billion. Two of the countries most affected are nuclear powers. This is genocide by oblique intent on a scale never previously seen. The British Museum are actively supporting this by advertising British Petroleum. Can no one see any risks here?
Again, these actions achieve great publicity for the climate emergency at very little cost or disruption to the public. No one likes to be in the front line, but I have more sympathy for the millions suffering from drought and near famine conditions due to climate change
As Phoebe Plummer said “Which is more important – Art? – Or life?”
Gil Murray