An article by Alex Marshall in the November 8, 2023 Arts Section of The New York Times reports that members of the climate activist group, Just Stop Oil slightly damaged the National Gallery London’s “Rokeby Venus” when they smashed its protective glass with emergency hammers ten times. The painting was chosen for action due to its symbolism as the focus of a suffragette protest in 1914 in which it was slashed. Whether or not this damage was intentional—group members are known to discuss their actions with art experts beforehand in order to limit damage to art works—the question is how did they get the hammers through security and into the galleries?
#Conservation in the News
.