“I got five lovely shots in…”
Mary Richardson
If you follow contemporary art history you will be aware that iconoclasm is alive and well. A few days ago climate protestors in London threw a can of tomato soup over Van Gogh’s Sunflowers. Andy Warhol fans would love the symbolism, especially if it was a can of Campbells. Apparently, care was taken to ensure no permanent damage was done to the artwork. That has not always been the case. in 1914, the suffragette Mary Richardson, also known as “Slasher Mary, set out to protest the arrest of Emmeline Pankhurst. Mary entered the British National Gallery and attcked Velázquez’s The Toilet of Venus (Rokeby Venus), with meat cleaver. Several years of careful repair and conservation managed to restore the work. The episode generated public outcry and was followed by two years of suffragette activism against public art. Acts such as this generate much publicity, but sadly usually sharply divide sympathies for the cause. #artactivism2022 #letsmakelemonade
Pen Paint and Scalpel 