The National Gallery in London announced pledges totaling £375 million to fund a new wing and the expansion of its collection, saying the sum included “the two largest ever publicly reported single cash donations to a museum or gallery globally.” The gallery has launched an international architectural competition to design the new wing, which will be built on the last remaining part of its current campus and aims to revitalise the area between Leicester Square and Trafalgar Square.
Of the £375 million pledged to date, £150 million comes from Crankstart, the charitable foundation of Sir Michael Moritz and his wife Harriet Heyman, and a further £150 million from the Julia Rausing Trust. The remaining £75 million is provided by the National Gallery Trust, its chairman of trustees John Booth, and other donors who wish to remain anonymous.
Sir Hans Rausing, founder trustee of the Julia Rausing Trust, said his gift was given in memory of his late wife. "My beloved wife Julia was a passionate supporter of the National Gallery and its role in making great art accessible to all," he said. "She would have wholeheartedly embraced the vision and ambition behind this project, recognising its potential to transform the understanding and appreciation of art, and to reinforce the gallery's role on the world stage. This gift is given in her memory, so that others may discover the same beauty and inspiration in art that meant so much to her."
The gallery said the funding will support its move to extend its historic collection and "marks the beginning of an exciting new collaboration with Tate and other museums in the United Kingdom and around the world." It also described the expansion as part of a plan to create "a vibrant, fresh experience for visitors" in the West End.
Director Sir Gabriele Finaldi said the institution was "hugely excited by these developments and are immensely grateful to our donors for their support – on an unprecedented scale – as the National Gallery steps into its third century." He added: "With the bicentenary celebrations now completed, the National Gallery looks to the future. We want to be the place where the UK public and visitors from across the globe can enjoy the finest painting collection in the world from medieval times to our own, in a superb architectural setting."
Founded by Parliament in 1824, the National Gallery offers free entry and houses the nation's collection of Western European painting from the late 13th to the early 20th century. Its holdings include works by Cezanne, Degas, Leonardo da Vinci, Monet, Raphael, Rembrandt, Renoir, Rubens, Titian, J.M.W. Turner, Van Dyck, Van Gogh and Velázquez.
The gallery said the international competition will invite architects to submit designs for the new wing on the remaining undeveloped portion of its Trafalgar Square campus. It did not set out a timeline for the competition's conclusion or the start of construction, saying only that the project would be part of a longer-term strategy to broaden access to the collection and improve visitor facilities.
The gifts represent a significant instance of private support for a national museum and follow a period of celebration for the institution. The National Gallery completed its bicentenary events earlier this year as it looks ahead to expanded exhibition space and enhanced partnerships with other cultural institutions.
The announcement underscores a broader trend of major philanthropic donations reshaping museum projects in recent years, enabling large-scale capital works and new programming. The National Gallery said it would provide further details on the architectural competition and project timetable in due course.