Climate activist found guilty in National Gallery vandalism case, faces 10 years

Josh Shaffer, The News & Observer (Raleigh) on Apr 8, 2025

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A federal jury convicted North Carolina climate activist Timothy Martin of two felonies Monday for smearing washable paint on a sculpture’s display case in the National Gallery of Art — an act of civil disobedience that could send him to prison for 10 years.

Martin, a 55-year-old architect and father of two from Raleigh, faces sentencing in August for two counts of conspiracy and injuring government property, each of which carries a maximum penalty of five years.

Reached in Washington, D.C., he remained upbeat and “grateful” for his day in court, where he represented himself in U.S. District Court.

“A not guilty verdict would have been a little better than a guilty verdict, I guess, in terms of my success at educating the jury about the climate danger they’re in,” he said, “but I totally understand if they weren’t yet ready to face climate reality. Who is? After all, they live in the belly button of the belly of the beast of the American Empire.”

Martin’s conviction stems from 2023, when he and New York climate activity Joanna Smith entered the National Gallery in Washington with plans to deface the display case for Edgar Degas’ “Little Dancer Aged Fourteen” — a masterpiece of French Impressionism.

They did not touch the artwork itself, but rather smeared the paint on the clear display case surrounding it, drawing tidal waves and wind gusts before sitting on the gallery floor with their paint-smeared palms facing out.

Gallery officials would later estimate the damage at $4,000.

What was the intent?

Martin pointed to direct impact from increasingly severe weather, particularly Hurricane Helene, which he has stressed justifies acts of civil disobedience. He declined to plead guilty, unlike Smith, who has already served a 60-day sentence.

In his defense, Martin argued that he had no plans to harm the sculpture itself, but rather to tell a crucial story through his attention-getting act. The paint was deliberately chosen because it was washable, and the sculpture was selected because it had a protective case.

But prosecutors countered that regardless of his intended message, Martin willfully broke the law and planned on getting arrested. The law specifies injury to property in any way, and prosecutors showed the jury photos of the smeared case to show obvious damage.

Soup on a Van Gogh

Climate change activists have targeted artwork prior to the National Gallery event.

In 2022, a pair of protesters from the group Just Stop Oil threw tomato soup on the glass covering over Vincent Van Gogh’s “Sunflowers” inside London’s National Gallery, causing minor damage to the frame, according to The Associated Press. They then glued themselves to the wall before being extracted and placed under arrest.

In a previous interview with The Raleigh News & Observer, Martin said he would welcome prison time for the opportunity to read and sleep with three meals a day.

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