Climate activist vandalizes Picasso artwork in Montreal museum

The targeted artwork, L’Hétaire, was on loan from an Italian gallery and protected by glass. Museum officials confirmed that there were no immediate signs of damage.

Last Generation Canada claimed responsibility for the act, saying it was part of a campaign urging the Canadian government to establish a national climate disaster response agency to assist those impacted by extreme weather. The group has also targeted the Montreal Casino and the BMO Museum with similar paint demonstrations in recent weeks.

According to the Montreal Gazette, police were called to the museum at around 10:40 am. Their investigation determined that a 21-year-old man threw the paint while two others filmed it. Montreal police said the man was arrested for mischief and later released with a promise to appear in court. The other two were detained but released without charges.

The group identified the man only as “Marcel.” In video footage of the incident, he was seen speaking in French and calling for a government agency to address climate disasters.

In a statement released by the organization, Marcel said, “We value paint strokes and colour composition over life itself. A lot more resources have been put in place to secure and protect this artwork than to protect living, breathing people. So, what do the elite actually value? We are now facing a dilemma: to protect art made by long dead artists for no one to see, or to protect the new and future artistic geniuses for their works to be seen by our children and grandchildren. Art only flourishes when people live, not when they survive. Who in Manitoba, where wildfires have been raging, even has the time and energy right now to become the next Picasso?”

Montreal Museum of Fine Arts Director Stéphane Aquin condemned the act in a statement, saying he was “deeply dismayed.”

“It is most unfortunate that this act carried out in the name of environmental activism targeted a work belonging to our global cultural heritage and under safekeeping for the benefit of future generations,” Aquin said.