£5 million grant to National Gallery closes out their NG200 campaign
The Julia Rausing Trust has granted £5 million to The National Gallery to complete their NG200 fundraising campaign, commemorating the Gallery’s bicentenary.
The funds will be used for three projects:
- To refurbish the mews, connecting the Sainsbury Wing and the Wilkins building for an anticipated six million annual visitors. The link between the two buildings will follow the line of the original architecture of the royal stables located here since the reign of King Richard II.
- The creation of a new artist studio. The National Gallery has a long-standing programme which welcomes artists in residence, associate artists, and contemporary fellows each year. The new studio will be situated overlooking Trafalgar Square and offer artists close access to the unique library and archive.
- A new Seminar room. Research is at the heart of what the National Gallery does: the new Research Centre, as part of NG200, will transform research by increasing access and enabling departments to work more closely together. The Seminar Room in the new Research Centre will be situated in the Wilkins Building and will seat up to 60 people.
Ensuring the Gallery was in the best possible shape to enter its third century was important to Julia, who at the start of their campaign funded the complete refurbishment of the facade of the historic Gallery building with over £2.6m given through the Julia and Hans Rausing Trust, having noticed the impact on it from air pollution and the urban environment since its last clean in the 1980s.
Gabriele Finaldi, Director of the National Gallery said:
“Julia Rausing was a huge influence on the National Gallery. She thought it was an important and beautiful museum and that to fulfil its purpose it should be well run, it should look elegant and smart, and it should be welcoming to everyone. She wanted to help, to make a difference. It was thanks to her very direct interest that we undertook two major renovation projects: the refurbishment of Room 32, the gallery that now bears her and Hans’s name, and the cleaning of the National Gallery facade on Trafalgar Square.
This latest grant to honour Julia’s memory enables us to look to the future, to a Gallery that serves its visiting public better and supports artistic creativity and research on the paintings in the collection.
She wanted us to be our best and helped us to do that. We owe her a great deal.”