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<\/p>\nLondon\u2019s National Gallery, home of Western masterpieces from the 13th to early 20th centuries, will build a new wing to accommodate an \u201cexpanded collection\u201d with an infusion of \u00a3375 million (~$500 million) in private donations. The project marks the most significant transformation of the museum since its founding in 1824.<\/p>\n
The new wing will create flexible and permanent galleries that will integrate \u201cmodern-day acquisitions\u201d and works created \u201cin the Western tradition\u201d before 1900, a spokesperson for the institution told Hyperallergic.<\/p>\n
The museum announced on September 9 that it had received two cash pledges of \u00a3150 million (~$200 million) from the family foundation of Wales-born billionaire Michael Moritz and the trust of the late British philanthropist Julia Rausing for the expansion initiative, known as \u201cProject Domani.\u201d According to a press release, the pledges are the two single largest publicly reported donations to any museum in the world.<\/p>\n
An additional \u00a375 million (~$100 million) came from the National Gallery Trust, donors from the museum\u2019s board, and anonymous contributors. <\/p>\n
The National Gallery\u2019s collection includes Vincent van Gogh\u2019s \u201cSunflowers\u201d (1888), Leonardo da Vinci\u2019s mysterious 15th-century \u201cVirgin of the Rocks,\u201d Jan van Eyck\u2019s \u201cArnolfini Portrait\u201d (1434), and notable works by Rembrandt, Vermeer, Raphael, C\u00e9zanne, Monet, and others.<\/p>\n
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\t\tPablo Picasso\u2019s 1914 oil painting \u201cFruit Dish, Bottle and Violin\u201d (\u00a9 Succession of Picasso \/ DACS)<\/p>\n
Several news outlets reported<\/a> that the new wing signaled the National Gallery\u2019s intention to begin collecting works of modern art for the first time. This would mark a departure from a longstanding agreement<\/a> establishing that the National Gallery would not collect works created after 1900, leaving this period to the Tate, its younger counterpart comprising four museums. However, the National Gallery\u2019s announcement of Project Domani does not contain any promise to begin acquiring modern and contemporary art, and alludes only to a vague \u201cever-closer collaboration with [the] Tate.\u201d The two institutions, the press release says, have already established a working group to discuss artwork loans and the development of the National Gallery\u2019s \u201cnew displays.\u201d<\/p>\n A spokesperson for the National Gallery did not directly confirm whether the museum would begin collecting modern and contemporary art, but said that it currently possesses a small group of 25 works created after 1900, including Pablo Picasso\u2019s 1914 oil painting \u201cFruit Dish, Bottle and Violin.\u201d<\/p>\n \t\tAn image of the location scouted on the National Gallery\u2019s estate for the new wing (\u00a9 Purcell)<\/p>\n The National Gallery spokesperson rejected the idea that the new wing would be exclusively for modern artworks. Instead, they said, the creation of a new wing would allow \u201crecent modern-day acquisitions to be integrated within, rather than appended to the history of painting in the Western tradition.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Bing-Maps-Screenshot_page-0001-1200x884.jpg\")
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