Dorset climate activist jailed for gluing himself to Van Gogh painting
22 year old Louis McKechnie has been found guilty of criminal damage
A Dorset climate activist has been jailed for three weeks for criminal damage, after gluing himself to the frame of a Vincent Van Gogh painting at a London art gallery.
Just Stop Oil supporter Louis McKechnie, who's 22 and from Weymouth, along with 24 year old Emily Brocklebank from Leeds, were found to have caused just under £2,000 of damage.
They attached themselves to Van Gogh's 1889 work Peach Trees In Blossom at the Courtauld Gallery, on the Strand, on June 30th.
Sentencing the pair at Westminster Magistrates' Court yesterday (Tuesday 22nd November), District Judge Neeta Minhas said:
"An 18th century frame which is hundreds of years old has been permanently damaged.
"The painting has significant, historical and art value and I consider the damage to be substantial.
"It is not minor, insignificant, temporary or trivial."
"I find you both guilty of criminal damage, having no lawful excuse to cause damage but you did so on a reckless basis."
During the trial, McKechnie had argued:
"I believe that a completely logical person who is not a psychopath who owns a painting of this value by Vincent Van Gogh would have respected the artist's wishes.
"He said himself that the art of nature is not as valuable as nature itself."
Francesca Cociani, defending the pair, said McKechnie believed an owner who 'respected the wishes of the painter' would have 'consented to minor damage'.
Asked if the protests were receiving public support, McKechnie said:
"In 1960, Martin Luther King was the most hated man in America. The civil rights movement still worked.
"It's not a popularity contest - people don't have to like what we're doing."
Ms Cociani questioned Karen Serres, a curator at the gallery, asking her:
"It's possible that this very painting has now increased in value because of the protest it was subject to by the defendants.
"Say the institute was to sell it on in 20 to 30 years, is it possible its value would now increase?"
Ms Serres replied:
"Absolutely not."
The witness said she believes the painting cannot be sold.
Ms Serres said it took six hours for the painting to be removed from the frame and put back again.
McKechnie, who is already serving a prison term after cable tying himself to goalposts at Liverpool's Goodison Park, disrupting a Premier League game, has been jailed for a further three weeks.
Brocklebank received a 21-day sentence, suspended for six months, with an electronically monitored six-week curfew.