A climate activist is accused of damaging a sculpture at the National Gallery of Art.
A climate activist who smeared paint on the protective case of Edgar Degas' "Little Dancer Aged Fourteen" sculpture at Washington, D.C.’s National Gallery of Art was charged.
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Charges were brought against a climate activist who splattered paint on a case involving the "Little Dancer Aged Fourteen" sculpture by 19th-century French artist Edgar Degas at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.
According to a press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office in Washington, D.C., Joanna Smith, 54, of Brooklyn, New York, received 60 days in jail for vandalizing the historic statue, out of a possible five-year maximum sentence.
Judge Amy Berman Jackson also ordered Smith to serve 24 months of supervised release and 150 hours of community service, with 10 hours that must involve cleaning graffiti.
Smith also paid restitution for the damage to the Degas sculpture and was barred from entering the nation's capital and all museums and monuments for two years.
Smith, along with other co-conspirators, traveled to Washington D.C. on April 27, 2023, and allegedly targeted the sculpture, the attorney's office said.
The two allegedly smuggled the paint in plastic water bottles and had other conspirators film them smearing the paint of the base and the see-through case, while sometimes hitting the roughly 143-year-old priceless artwork with force, on their phones, according to the release.
According to the government’s evidence, Smith, along with other co-conspirators, created video statements explaining their intent.
They also alerted two reporters from the Washington Post who arrived and took photos of the vandalism.
The April 27 incident caused $4,000 in damage and forced staff to remove "Little Dancer" from the galleries for 10 days for repairs, the release said.
The case was investigated by the FBI’s Washington Field Office, specifically the FBI’s Art Crime Team, with assistance from the National Gallery of Art Police, and U.S. Park Police.
