Animal-rights protesters targeted a portrait of King Charles in a London art gallery. Two activists affixed posters to the glass covering the painting. The artwork remained undamaged, according to the Philip Mould Gallery, and no arrests were made.
The red portrait by Jonathan Yeo, unveiled last month, is the first official painting of the King since his coronation. The Animal Rising group claimed responsibility, describing their action as “light-hearted.” They covered the royal portrait with an image of Wallace from the Wallace and Gromit animations, aiming to criticize the welfare standards of RSPCA “assured farm” status, given King Charles’ patronage of the RSPCA.
“With King Charles being such a big fan of Wallace and Gromit, we couldn’t think of a better way to draw his attention,” said Daniel Juniper of Animal Rising.
The gallery, which has been displaying the painting for free, reported that the incident was resolved quickly without any damage to the artwork. The Metropolitan Police did not receive an initial call but visited the gallery after footage appeared on social media.
“Staff at the venue confirmed no damage had been done to either the painting or the glass covering it,” said a police statement. “The protesters were asked to leave by staff and complied. The gallery did not wish to report a crime, so no further police action was taken.”
