National Gallery in London bans liquids after activists’ art attacks

The National Gallery in London is upping its security measures in the wake of protesters attacking multiple priceless paintings inside the storied museum – and visitors are now banned from bringing almost all liquids into the space.

As of Friday, visitors are prohibited from bringing any liquids except for baby formula, expressed milk or prescription medicine into the gallery, the museum announced.

All doors into the National Gallery will have walk-through metal detectors, and bags will be inspected upon entry, the press release said.

Visitors have also been asked to bring as few items as possible – and no large bags.

The National Gallery will also ban “displayed or wearable paraphernalia deemed as offensive or affiliated to organizations that pose a physical threat to the collection,” in addition to any campaign materials. 

Since July 2022, the National Gallery has seen five staged attacks on some of its most popular paintings – two of which took place in the last two weeks.

Last month, Just Stop Oil activists poured soup on two Van Gogh works shortly after other members of the group were thrown in jail for tarnishing the frame of artist’s iconic Sunflowers paintings.

“Such attacks have caused physical damage to the artworks, distress to visitors and staff alike, and disruption to our mission to ensure great art is available for everyone, everywhere to enjoy,” the gallery’s statement announcing the new rules said.

“Free access to the National Gallery allows everyone to be inspired by humanity’s greatest achievements,” the statement added.

“The collection we hold is irreplaceable and with each attack we have been forced to consider putting more barriers between the people and their artworks to preserve these fragile objects for future generations. Unfortunately, we have now reached a point where we have been forced to act to protect our visitors, staff and collection.”