London's National Gallery receives record-breaking donations for new wing-and will start collecting contemporary art

"London's National Gallery is to build a major new extension, featuring nearly as much space as the present Sainsbury Wing. The project will cost around £400m, of which £375m has already been quietly raised behind the scenes-an astonishing achievement. The pledges revealed today include two donations of £150m each. Gabriele Finaldi, the gallery director, told The Art Newspaper that these both represent "the largest-ever known cash donations to any cultural institution, not just in Britain, but globally"."

"An international architectural competition for the extension will be launched on 12 September. The new wing, which is expected to open in the early 2030s, will be on the site of St Vincent House, an undistinguished 1960s building just to the north of the Sainsbury Wing. St Vincent House, now set for demolition, was bought for the gallery in 1998 to provide future land and much of it has been leased out (it currently houses a Thistle Hotel)."

"Today's other key announcement, which will have a revolutionary long-term impact, is that the gallery will start to collect paintings from across the entire 20th century. Until now its cut-off date has been around 1900, although since the 1990s it has occasionally acquired early 20th-century works. Finaldi says that the new acquisition strategy will be enacted in "collaboration" with Tate, which has long collected international art from around 1900."

London's National Gallery will construct a major new wing nearly matching the Sainsbury Wing, sited on the St Vincent House plot north of the Sainsbury Wing, with demolition planned. The project is budgeted at about £400m, of which £375m has been raised, including two £150m donations. An international architectural competition will launch on 12 September and the wing is expected to open in the early 2030s. The gallery will expand its collection policy to include paintings spanning the entire 20th century, implementing the new acquisition strategy in collaboration with Tate. Lead donors include the Crankstart foundation and the Julia Rausing Trust.

Read at The Art Newspaper - International art news and events