Eben Lazarus and Hannah Hunt taped posters on The Hay Wain and glued themselves to its frame.
Image source, SNSTwo Just Stop Oil protesters have been found guilty of causing criminal damage to a John Constable masterpiece.
Eben Lazarus, 22, and Hannah Hunt, 23, both from Trowbridge, Wiltshire, taped a “dystopian version” of The Hay Wain on to the original artwork on 4 July.
They then glued their hands to its frame in The National Gallery, Westminster Magistrates’ Court heard.
Prosecutor Jonathan Bryan KC said the painting was restored and fitted with a glass sheet before it was re-exhibited.
The protesters told the court they had made “a deliberate effort” to avoid damaging Constable’s painting.
The original masterpiece, which was painted in 1821, shows a rural Suffolk scene of a wagon returning to the fields for another load.
Mr Bryan described the painting as “a national treasure”.
“Important works of art which form part of a nation’s heritage need to be protected,” he added.
Image source, PA Media
The court heard the protesters taped three printed posters on the artwork.
CCTV footage, which showed Lazarus and Hunt gluing themselves to the painting’s frame while wearing Just Stop Oil T-shirts, was played in court.
It also showed them making statements on camera, before they were arrested.
Image source, PA Media
The court heard The Hay Wain was not itself affected but the varnish on top and the surrounding frame suffered damage.
Mr Bryan read out a statement from the head of conservation at the gallery, Larry Keith, which said the painting was restored at a cost of £1,081.
‘Significant damage’
Giving evidence, Lazarus and Hunt claimed they enlisted advice from an art expert who told them “low tack tape” and a small amount of glue would not cause damage to the painting or its frame.
Hunt also said she aimed to “inspire others”, suggesting she “brought hope” to a group of schoolchildren who she said had clapped and cheered in the gallery at the end of her public address.
The pair also argued that Articles 10 and 11 under the European Convention of Human Rights – the rights to freedom of expression and freedom of assembly respectively – gave them lawful excuse for their actions, but this was rejected.
District Judge Daniel Sternberg said the damage was “significant not trivial” and that the defendants “were reckless” and caused it “without lawful excuse”.
They will be sentenced at a later date.