The gallery, home to thousands of paintings including masterpieces by Georges Seurat, Paul Cezanne, Vincent van Gogh and Leonardo da Vinci, is this evening hosting an event for energy giant Shell, who is planning to drill for oil in the Arctic this summer.
The campaigners, from Greenpeace, are preparing to drop a 40 metre square banner, which has a picture of an oil rig and the words ’It’s No Oil Painting’, down the front of the gallery.
Hannah Davey from Greenpeace, who is currently on the roof of the National Gallery, said: