A staff member speaks to another past a partition used to block off the room where a climate activist threw paint on artist Tom Thomson's "Northern River" painting, at the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa, on Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2023. Climate advocacy group On2Ottawa announced one of their supporters threw paint on the work of art to demand that the government respond to the wildfire crisis. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang
OTTAWA – An artwork by renowned Canadian artist Tom Thomson at the National Gallery in Ottawa was splattered with paint today as part of a protest against the federal government’s response to wildfires.
Ottawa police say they arrested Kaleb Suedfeld and charged him with criminal mischief, adding they are still investigating.
On2Ottawa, a Canadian climate change advocacy group, issued a news release shortly before the arrest to say that paint would be thrown at Thomson’s “Northern River,” created in 1914-15.
An Instagram post by the group shows a man smearing the glass that protects the painting with pink paint.
The group says it has organized several traffic disruption demonstrations this month to draw attention to wildfires issue and is promising further actions in Ottawa next month.
The National Gallery of Canada did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 29, 2023.
