Courtesy of the National Gallery
Co-founder of the nonprofit Climate Emergency Fund. The group financially supported several climate change protests in the UK, including throwing tomato soup at Van Gogh's house. sunflowerHe is the heir to a major US oil tycoon.
Co-founder Eileen Getty is the granddaughter of J. Paul Getty, who founded the American oil marketing company Getty Oil. At the time of her death in 1976, Getty was worth about $6 billion (more than $30 billion in 2022 dollars). Texaco acquired the company and its oil reserves in 1984 for $10.1 billion.
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Heiress Irene has never worked in the oil industry and is an active philanthropist. In 2019, she co-founded the Climate Emergency Fund, which provides grants to activist and protest groups seeking to stop widespread use of fossil fuels, often through civil disobedience.
Ms. Getty has personally donated $1 million to CEF, and her self-proclaimed foundation “dedicates the majority of its resources to organizations and individuals addressing the climate emergency.”
Details about Mr Getty's identity and financial involvement with CEF have been revealed again by two activists from the group Just Stop Oil, which protested the iconic Van Gogh painting at London's National Gallery earlier this month. It attracted attention. The soup-throwing incident made headlines around the world and drew criticism from British Labor Party leader Sir Keir Starmer. A video of activist Phoebe Plummer explaining the action also went viral.
On Saturday, the Getty published an editorial. guardian Acknowledging her role in funding climate change efforts, she pointed out how her family had become wealthy through fossil fuel extraction and called for a systemic transition to clean energy.of new york times In August, we introduced Getty and Rebecca Rockefeller Lambert, a scion of an oil tycoon, and their climate change activities.
But Getty's ancestry has drawn further criticism over the confrontational nature of many climate change protests by groups like Just Stop Oil, where these groups have taken major works of art and, in some cases, , acts of (non-permanent) vandalism of art organizations unrelated to art organizations are frequently carried out. Fossil fuel industry financiers.
Besides Van Gogh, sunflowerJust Stop Oil activists are glued to the frames of famous paintings at the Royal Academy, Glasgow's Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, and Manchester Art Gallery.
The “Just Stop Oil” protests sparked similar protests on Sunday, including two German activists who threw liquid mashed potatoes at a Claude Monet painting on display at the Barberini Museum in Potsdam, Germany. Ta.
On October 15th, CEF tweeted some statements Regarding criticism of Getty's wealth. Citing her years of philanthropy in areas such as housing, HIV/AIDs and climate change work, the organization asks: “If you were in her shoes, how would you put your money to good use?” Asked.
For Getty, that could mean more fundraising and high-profile events after CEF announced October would be a month of “sustained and disruptive protests” in 11 countries is high. Four Just Stop Oil protesters were arrested on Sunday for obstructing traffic at London's Abbey Road intersection, made famous by the Beatles.
