 In a rare example of the political protest for which Trafalgar Square is famous occurring in the National Gallery , the Rokeby Venus was damaged on 10 March 1914 by Mary Richardson , a campaigner for women 's suffrage , in protest against the arrest of Emmeline Pankhurst the previous day . Later that month another suffragette attacked five Bellinis , causing the Gallery to close until the start of the First World War , when the Women 's Social and Political Union called for an end to violent acts drawing attention to their plight . 
