London. Freshly renovated, the London National Gallery (NG) already announces new projects. The National Museum will open a new wing to extend its collection. Supported by an investment of 375 million pounds (€ 433 million), this “Project Domani” constitutes the third stage of the master plan commanded by the institution in 2018. This wing will be built within St. Vincent House (see Ill.), Property of the NG located between Trafalgar Square and Leicester Square. This building, acquired almost thirty years ago, is home to a hotel as well as an office complex. An architecture competition was launched on September 10. The objective is to open this new section of the museum in the early 2030s.
The financing of the project is essentially made up of donations. A sum of 150 million pounds (€ 173 million) comes from Crankstart, the charity of Michael Moritz, a Gallo-American investor and philanthrope, and his wife, Harriet Heyman. Julia Rausing Trust, an organization created in memory of British philanthropic Julia Rausing, also donated 150 million pounds. The rest of the envelope comes from the National Gallery Trust, an independent charitable organization whose objective is to promote the National Gallery; From John Booth, the chairman of the museum’s board of directors, and other donors wishing to remain anonymous.
To this announcement was added the major decision to expand the collection to works made beyond 1900. This historic terminal, formalized by agreements, served to decide between the acquisitions between the National Gallery, for the pre-1900 works, and La Tate, specialized in modern and contemporary art. “Now that bicentennial celebrations are over, the National Gallery turns to the future, which is why we are crossing this transformative stage”indicates Gabriele Finaldi, the director of the museum. Shortly after taking office in 2015, the director had underlined the artificial side of this limit and its problematic aspect, while art continues its progression in the 21st century. “By expanding the scope of our exhibitions, we will be able to include artists whose gender and ethnic origins are currently under-represented, even not represented, in the National Gallery collection. »» This choice should in particular open the doors of the museum to the works of women painters, much more present in the art of the 20th century than in previous centuries.
However, this announcement raises the question of possible competition between the National Gallery and the Tate, while the latter institution has encountered financial difficulties since the Pandemic of Covid-19. But a new partnership has been launched between the two entities and this risk of competition Idea was publicly challenged on one side as on the other. “The administrators of the two institutions have created a working group made up of representatives of each (part) in order to determine the terms of collaboration ”said Maria Balshaw, director of the Tate. For the moment, the National Gallery does not confirm that the new wing will be used to welcome the more recent works which will be acquired by the institution. Its future use remains to be defined.
