A charitable trust has pledged its single biggest donation ever of £150m to the National Gallery.
The pledge has been made by the Julia Rausing Trust in memory of the eponymous philanthropist, who died in 2024 and was known for her association with the gallery.
The £150m gift will be the largest ever single cash donation to a museum or gallery globally and will help create a new gallery wing and public area.
The new gallery wing will be built on the last remaining part of the National Gallery campus: St Vincent House, which is currently an office complex and hotel.
The wing will include modern paintings from the 20th and 21st centuries and will also mark a new collaboration with Tate.
Julia Rausing Trust recently funded a complete refurbishment of the National Gallery’s facade, a new research centre and artist studio.
The gallery’s Room 32, one of its most visited rooms, has been renamed the Julia and Hans Rausing Room in recognition of their support.
‘We hope this generous act inspires others’
The Julia Rausing Trust was set up last year and is now one of the largest charitable foundations in the UK after merging with the Julia and Hans Rausing Trust, set up by the pair in 2014.
It has pledged to give out £100m-worth of funds every year, which is roughly double the average annual amount the Julia and Hans Rausing Trust gave in annual grants.
Hans Rausing, Julia’s widower and founder trustee, said: “My beloved wife Julia was a passionate supporter of the National Gallery and its role in making great art accessible to all.
“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."
Simon Fourmy, chief executive of the Julia Rausing Trust, added: “As our major cultural institutions face growing funding pressures, we hope this generous act inspires others to make bold, transformative contributions to sustain the UK’s cultural life.
“The trust has proudly supported several previous projects at the National Gallery and the decision to back this project ultimately rested on three compelling benefits: the creation of a new, freely accessible gallery space in the centre of London that will allow the public to experience the full breadth of European painting; the importance of investing in the UK’s leading cultural institutions to sustain our global leadership in the creative industries; and the opportunity to honour Julia Rausing with a legacy gift of rare significance to an institution that was close to her heart.”
Director of the National Gallery Gabriele Finaldi said: “The Julia Rausing Trust’s pledge is an astounding expression of confidence in the National Gallery’s plans for the future and we are profoundly grateful.
“Julia Rausing loved the gallery very deeply and I am very pleased that we, the UK public and art lovers from everywhere, will be benefiting from the trust’s commitment well into the future.”
