Portrait of King Charles III Covered in Pink Paint... Environmental Groups Urge "Rejection of Oil and Gas Development"

Environmental Group Paints Over Portrait of Charles III
Museum States "Artwork Not Damaged"

Two climate activists have sparked controversy by painting over a portrait of King Charles III of the United Kingdom in protest against the Scottish government's energy policy.

According to the British daily The Telegraph on the 26th (local time), two activists from the Scottish environmental group 'This Is Rigged' sprayed pink paint on the portrait of Charles III at the National Portrait Gallery in Edinburgh around 3 p.m. Fortunately, the artwork was protected by a glass shield.

Climate activists paint over the portrait of King Charles III of the United Kingdom.
[Image source=ThisIsRigged Instagram]

They left the phrase "The people are mightier than a lord" at the top left of the painting and also sprayed pink paint on the upper body of Charles III. Afterwards, they sat below the portrait and glued their palms to the floor with adhesive.

The phrase they wrote originates from a slogan used by the 'Highland Land League,' a group that campaigned to secure the rights of tenant farmers who were forcibly evicted from their ancestral lands by landowners in the past.

The group also explained the phrase as "a slogan used by the Highland Land League in 1880s Scotland, which campaigned for tenant farmers' rights through actions such as land occupations."

Ben Taylor (28), who participated in the protest, stated on Twitter, "Why does the Scottish government continue to approve new oil and gas developments instead of opposing them?" He added, "If they care about the future of young people, they must refuse new oil and gas licenses."

The artwork was reported to be undamaged due to the protective glass. The gallery stated, "We closed the Modern Portrait Gallery this afternoon due to the protest, but other areas of the gallery remained open to visitors as usual," and added, "There are no signs of actual damage to the artwork."

The Telegraph pointed out that despite Charles III campaigning for over 50 years on environmental issues such as nature conservation and climate change, his portrait became a target for activists.

In fact, Charles III has been known as a passionate environmentalist since his time as Prince of Wales, actively expressing his views on climate change and environmental pollution. He also played an active role in urging climate action at the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) held in his country in November 2021.

Two climate activists in Sweden were arrested by the police after smearing paint on a Claude Monet artwork.
[Image source=Climate group 'Oterstel Botmarker' Facebook]

Meanwhile, activists' 'artwork vandalism' to raise awareness of the climate crisis is happening worldwide. They target artworks displayed in major museums to attract the attention of the media and the public.

Last month, two climate activists in Sweden were arrested after smearing paint on a work by the French Impressionist painter Claude Monet. Fortunately, this artwork was also protected by a glass shield.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.