London's National Gallery, renowned for housing Western masterpieces spanning from the 13th to early 20th centuries, has announced plans to construct a new wing following an unprecedented infusion of £375 million ($500 million) in private donations. This ambitious expansion project represents the most significant transformation of the historic museum since its establishment in 1824.
The museum revealed on September 9 that it had secured two major cash pledges totaling £300 million ($400 million) from prominent philanthropists. The first donation of £150 million ($200 million) came from the family foundation of Wales-born billionaire Michael Moritz, while an additional £150 million ($200 million) was pledged by the trust of the late British philanthropist Julia Rausing. According to the museum's press release, these pledges represent the two single largest publicly reported donations to any museum worldwide. The remaining £75 million ($100 million) was contributed by the National Gallery Trust, donors from the museum's board, and anonymous contributors.
The new wing, part of an initiative called Project Domani, will feature both flexible and permanent galleries designed to accommodate an expanded collection. A spokesperson for the National Gallery explained that the facility will integrate modern-day acquisitions with works created in the Western tradition before 1900. The expansion aims to allow recent acquisitions to be seamlessly woven into the museum's narrative rather than simply added as an appendix to the history of Western painting.
The National Gallery's prestigious collection includes some of the world's most celebrated artworks, such as Vincent van Gogh's "Sunflowers" (1888), Leonardo da Vinci's mysterious 15th-century "Virgin of the Rocks," and Jan van Eyck's "Arnolfini Portrait" (1434). The museum also houses notable works by masters including Rembrandt, Vermeer, Raphael, Cézanne, and Monet.
Several news outlets have speculated that the new wing signals the National Gallery's intention to begin collecting modern art for the first time, potentially breaking from a longstanding agreement that limited the museum to works created before 1900. This arrangement traditionally left later periods to the Tate, the National Gallery's counterpart comprising four museums. However, the official announcement of Project Domani contains no explicit promise to begin acquiring modern and contemporary art, mentioning only plans for "ever-closer collaboration" with the Tate.
A National Gallery spokesperson did not directly confirm whether the museum would expand its collecting scope beyond 1900, but revealed that the institution currently possesses a small collection of 25 works created after that date. Among these is Pablo Picasso's 1914 oil painting "Fruit Dish, Bottle and Violin." The spokesperson emphasized that the new wing would not be exclusively dedicated to modern artworks but would instead facilitate better integration of all periods within the museum's collection.
The potential expansion of the National Gallery's collecting mandate has raised questions about possible tensions with the Tate Modern regarding each institution's artistic territory. The Guardian reported concerns from anonymous senior sources about potential conflicts over the scope of each museum's domain. However, Tate director Maria Balshaw issued a statement indicating that trustees and curatorial teams from both institutions would meet to discuss collaborative opportunities.
As the first step in Project Domani, the National Gallery plans to launch an international architectural competition to design the completely new museum wing. The construction will take place on the St. Vincent House property, which the institution acquired 30 years ago and is currently part of its campus. According to the museum spokesperson, the new wing is expected to open sometime in the early 2030s, marking a new chapter in the National Gallery's nearly 200-year history of preserving and presenting Western art to the public.
