The Courtauld Gallery in central London has secured £10 million in funding to open two new galleries dedicated to contemporary art.
Courtauld Gallery – Somerset House
The funding comes from the Blavatnik Family Foundation, which has supported the Courtauld for many years and its gifts to the Courtauld have now topped £20 million.
Located on the top floor of the North Wing of Somerset House within the new Courtauld Campus, the two new galleries restore a space designed in the 18th century as a display room for the Royal Society. They will be accessible to visitors via a dedicated entrance opposite the main Gallery entrance, which will also provide public access to the historic East Wing staircase for the first time.
The galleries are due to open in 2029, in time for the Courtauld’s centenary, and will form a key part of its wider redevelopment at Somerset House.
Mark Hallett, Märit Rausing Director of the Courtauld, said: “Sir Leonard and Lady Emily Blavatnik have been foundational supporters of the Courtauld for many years, and we are thrilled that they share our excitement about our expanded engagement with contemporary art. Thanks to their enlightened philanthropy, visitors to the Courtauld’s galleries will be able to enjoy the most exciting art of today alongside our extraordinary array of historic masterpieces.”
The new Courtauld Campus, supported by the Reuben Foundation and other philanthropists, with a masterplan by Witherford Watson Mann and designed in collaboration with Purcell and Lawson Ward Studios, will create a flexible teaching, learning and creative environment that reunites the Gallery, Institute and conservation studios under one roof.