Activists Face Federal Charges For Smearing Paint On Degas Sculpture’s Enclosure
Image via Declare Emergency
A pair of environmental activists was caught red-handed on federal charges after targeting Edgar Degas’s famous La petite danseuse de quatorze ans (Little Dancer of Fourteen Years) sculpture at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, in a protest last month.
Timothy Martin and Joanna Smith, both 53, were indicted and charged by a federal court with “conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States and injury to a National Gallery of Art exhibit,” according to the US Attorney’s Office in DC. The two protesters surrendered themselves on Friday, May 26, after the indictment.
With the federal charges, the two suspects could be fined up to US$250,000 each and spend prison time of up to five years.
On April 27, the activists—acting on behalf of anti-fuel group Declare Emergency—entered the exhibit with water bottles filled with red and black paint. Then, they used their hands to smear the material all over the plexiglass case and pedestal of the 19th-century masterpiece, creating ominous images like a tree on fire.
The campaigners, identifying as parents, said the young ballerina depicted in the Degas work reminded them of their duty to protect their children.
“We are adults; we should be at home working,” Martin was heard proclaiming. “I have a job that requires health and safety, but I can’t do my job unless I have a government that does their job in looking out for the health and safety of our children.”
Photos from today's action. Check our Facebook or Instagram for live feeds. @DecEmergency is the handle for both of those, too.#declareemergency #StopWillow #A22Network #Degas #nationalgalleryofart
— Declare Emergency (@DecEmergency) April 27, 2023
Three people detained atm as far as we’re aware. pic.twitter.com/EqI27IysLy
Declare Emergency expressed then: “This little dancer is protected in her climate-controlled box, but people, animals, and ecosystems struggling and dying in extreme weather events are not.”
That may be so, but the National Gallery says the sculpture has taken some damage, even if it was surrounded by glass. The stunt left “approximately US$2,400 in damage,” the Justice Department reveals.
The vibrations caused by the campaigners’ hand motions allegedly created microscopic and cumulative damage to the actual artwork, which was sculpted from mostly beeswax.
A gallery official tells Hyperallergic that the statue’s complex construction of materials like wood, clay, rope, wire, and paintbrushes made it “especially vulnerable” too.
As a result, “the exhibit was removed from public display for 10 days so that it could be repaired,” says the Justice Department in a statement.
Following the incident, the sculpture will now need “regular, extensive monitoring” to look out for changes in the cracks or the figure, according to museum staff.
The climate activism group has started crowdfunding efforts to help pay for the pair’s legal fees.
Declare Emergency says the two protesters were punished for “smearing nursery school paint on a glass case.”
[via DCist and Hyperallergic, images via various sources]
