Manchester

Suffragette activity in Manchester
April 1913, 3 Suffragette women, Lillian Forrester, Annie Briggs, and Evelyn Manesta who were visiting the art gallery in Manchester turned vigilante and start smashing up exhibits in full view of by-standers. They concentrated on destroying the most prized in the collection. They damaged a total of 13 paintings, some of which included famous works by Pre-Raphaelite and Victorian artists. The suffragettes were then locked inside the room and remained there until the authorities arrived. The chief constable then took them in for questioning at the town hall where they where charged in court under the malicious damage act of 1861.

The three suffragettes' attack on the gallery was sparked from the arrest of Emmeline Pankhurst the previous day, who was sentenced to three years penal servitude for encouraging others to set light to buildings. Suffragettes across the country took action, and as well as the attack of the gallery ink was poured into eleven post boxes in Manchester, damaging 250 letters in total.



This painting is called 'The last watch of Hero'. It got attacked that day.



The incident at the Manchester art gallery was not alone; it sparked many other attacks to paintings in the following years, with suffragettes choosing to vandalise the most valuble art to achieve maxuimum publicity, including paintings at the National Gallery and the Royal Academy.