London’s National Gallery bans “liquids” within its walls to counter militant actions

The National Gallery in London announced Thursday that it was strengthening security controls after being the target of several actions by environmental and pro-Palestinian activists who attacked works in its collection. The institution indicates that it has been « the victim of five separate attacks » since July 2022. The works, protected by glass, were not damaged in these attacks, but their frames were in some cases damaged. « Unfortunately we have reached the point where we are obliged to take measures to protect our visitors, our employees and the collection »explains the museum in a press release.

From Friday, « no cash will be accepted in the National Gallery » with the exception of infant formula and prescription medications, it says. Access to the National Gallery, located in the heart of London near Trafalgar Square, is free, as is the case with all British public museums. Visitors pass through a security gate and their bags may be searched by an officer.

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The announcement comes a week after two pro-Palestinian activists from the group Youth Demand briefly covered the Picasso painting Maternity (1901) of a poster depicting a bloodied mother and child in the Gaza Strip. At the end of September, two environmental activists from the Just Stop Oil group threw soup on two versions of the Sunflowers by Van Gogh. Two activists from the same group had done the same on one of these copies of the Sunflowers, in July 2022. They were sentenced to prison terms.

In its press release, the National Gallery also mentions incidents against the paintings The Hay Cart by John Constable, in 2022, and Venus in the mirror by Diego Velasquez, in 2023. Other museums have also been targeted in Europe, notably the Prado Museum in Madrid, the Egyptian Museum in Barcelona and the Barberini Museum in Potsdam in Germany.