Enfilade

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The V&A Storehouse has now been open six weeks. The East London building, designed by Diller Scofidio + Renfro, houses some 250,000 objects, 350,000 books, and nearly 1,000 separate archives (with the David Bowie Collection scheduled to open in September). With costs undisclosed, estimates range from £64 to £100million (or more). I found the above video by Jessica ‘The Museum Guide’ to be helpful for conceiving of the space from afar. The storehouse is being compared to a cabinet of curiosities and IKEA. I’ll look forward to critical responses that aim to understand the project in terms of what a museum is now expected to be or do. There are obviously plenty of new things in play here; one would seem to be a new way of navigating the individual vs. group experience of a museum. –CH

From the V&A press release (28 May) . . . 

• For the first time, visitors can step inside V&A East Storehouse—the V&A’s unique museum experience and busy working store designed by architects Diller Scofidio + Renfro.
• Visitors can now get closer to their national collections than ever before through the V&A’s radical new Order and Object experience—now live.
• Over 1,000 objects ordered so far—with the most-ordered object a 1954 Balenciaga evening dress.
• The largest Pablo Picasso work in the world—the rarely displayed Ballets Russes Le Train Bleu stage cloth—is now display for the first time in over a decade alongside a series of monumental objects from architect Frank Lloyd Wright’s 1930s Kaufmann Office to the 15th-century Spanish Torrijos ceiling.

On Saturday, 31 May 2025, the V&A’s new working store and visitor attraction, V&A East Storehouse, opens its doors to the public for the first time following 10 years of planning and extensive audience consultation, with input from V&A East’s Youth Collective. Designed by world-renowned architects Diller, Scofidio + Renfro, it opens as part of East Bank, the new cultural quarter in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park supported by the Mayor of London.

A ground-breaking new museum experience spanning four levels, and at 16,000m2—bigger than 30+ basketball courts—V&A East Storehouse takes over a large section of the former London 2012 Olympics Media and Broadcast Centre (now Here East). It is a new purpose-built home for over 250,000 objects, 350,000 books, and 1,000 archives. A world-first in size, scale, and ambition, V&A East Storehouse immerses visitors in over half a million works spanning every creative discipline from fashion to theatre, streetwear to sculpture, design icons to pop pioneers. A busy and dynamic working museum store with an extensive self-guided experience, visitors can now get up-close to their national collections on a scale and in ways not possible before.

Tim Reeve, Deputy Director and COO, V&A, who developed the concept for V&A East Storehouse, said: “V&A East Storehouse is a completely new cultural experience and backstage pass to the V&A, transforming how people can access their national collections on a scale unimaginable until now. From conservation and how we care for our collections and cultural heritage around the world, to the artistry of our Museum Technicians and new research—there’s so much to discover. I hope our ground-breaking V&A East Storehouse opens to the public on Saturday 31 May visitors enjoy finding their creative inspiration and immersing themselves in the full theatre and wonder of the V&A as a dynamic working museum.”

Through the V&A’s radical new Order an Object service, anyone can now book to access any object at V&A East Storehouse, for free, seven-days-a-week. From mid-century furniture to ancient Egyptian shoes and Roman frescoes, an early 14th-century Simone Martini painting, Leigh Bowery costumes, Althea McNish fabrics, vintage band t-shirts and performance posters, and avant-garde fashion and couture from Balenciaga, Schiaparelli, Comme des Garcons, Issey Miyake and Vivienne Westwood, there’s something for everyone to explore. Since going live on 13 May, over 250 appointments have been booked to see over 1,000 objects from 14th-century and contemporary ceramics to a 17th-century carpet from Iran, 1930s wedding dresses and Julia Margaret Cameron photographs. So far, the most popular item ordered is a 1954 pink silk taffeta evening dress by Cristóbal Balenciaga.

Elizabeth Diller, Founding Partner, Diller Scofidio + Renfro, the firm that designed the architecture for V&A East Storehouse, said: “To celebrate the heterogeneity of the V&A’s collection of collections—spanning a broad variety of mediums, scales, and historical periods—visitors will experience a sense of being immersed in a vast cabinet of curiosities. The Collections Hall invites visitors to explore pre-curated works surrounding them, not according to conventional curatorial logics or standard storage taxonomies, but guided instead by their own curiosities. It has been a joy to work with the V&A’s curators and conservators in creating this new kind of institution: neither warehouse nor museum, but rather a hybrid shared by staff and the public with expanded opportunities for access and exchange.”

Museums Minister, Sir Chris Bryant said: “It’s great to see the V&A innovating in this way—V&A East Storehouse makes it possible for everyone to delve into a massive treasure trove of art, design and performance history in ways never seen before.”

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “V&A East Storehouse is a brand-new, groundbreaking museum experience in East Bank, London’s new educational and cultural district, that will revolutionise access to the world’s leading collection of art, design and performance. I’m proud to be supporting this landmark project, which will allow Londoners and visitors to go behind the scenes for the first time ever and explore some incredible treasures, from Roman artefacts and modern-day music archives to the largest Picasso work in the world, all for free. It’s the next building to open at East Bank and marks a hugely significant moment in our work to create the most ambitious cultural development in decades, helping us to ensure London stays the creative capital of the world.”

From the moment they emerge into the central Weston Collections Hall, visitors will be captivated by stunning vistas across all levels, surrounded by a cross-section of the V&A’s collections. Spanning ancient Buddhist sculpture to PJ Harvey’s guitar, paintings by Angelica Kauffman’s circle, costumes worn by Vivien Leigh, works by Sir Frank Bowling and Hew Locke, items from the Glastonbury Music Festival, Suffragette scarves, vintage football shirts, Thomas Heatherwick’s model for the London 2012 Olympic Cauldron and road signs designed by Margaret Calvert, visitors can take their own path through over 100 mini curated displays hacked into the ends and sides of the storage racking.

Six large-scale objects anchor the space, on display for the first time in decades. Highlights include the 1930s Kaufmann Office, the only complete Frank Lloyd Wright interior outside of the US, an exquisite 15th-century carved and gilded wooden ceiling from the now lost Torrijos Palace in Spain, and a full-scale 20th-century Frankfurt Kitchen designed by Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky.

Also on show is a building section from Robin Hood Gardens, a former residential estate in east London, the 17th-century Agra Colonnade, an extraordinary example of Mughal architecture from the bathhouse at the fort of Agra, and the largest Picasso work in the world—a monumental Ballets Russes Le Train Bleu theatre stage cloth. At 10 metres high and 11 metres wide, the Picasso-signed stage cloth has been rarely seen since its debut in 1924. It is on display in the new David and Molly Lowell Borthwick Gallery of epic proportions, built to show the V&A’s striking collection of large-scale textiles and theatre stage cloths on rotation. These large objects are brought further to life with a series of co-production projects in collaboration with young east Londoners, communities, and creatives, highlighting multiple new voices and perspectives across the space, including oral histories, new films, publications, and artworks in response.

V&A East Storehouse is the first of V&A East’s two new cultural destinations to open in east London. The second, V&A East Museum, is scheduled to open in spring 2026 and celebrates making and creativity’s power to bring change. Created with young people and rooted in east London’s heritage, V&A East Museum spotlights the people, ideas, and creativity shaping global culture right now.

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The new AIC galleries were designed by Barcelona-based architects Barozzi Veiga, who were hired in 2019 to produce a master plan for the museum campus, with future work funded in part by a $75million donation made in 2024 by Aaron Fleischman and Lin Lougheed. The new galleries are named for Eloise Wright Martin (1914–2008), a Life Trustee of the museum who endowed both the Museum Director and Curator of European Decorative Arts positions. From the press release:

Eloise W. Martin Galleries for the Applied Arts of Europe

Art Institute of Chicago, new installation open from 11 July 2025

Curated by Ellenor Alcorn, Christopher Maxwell, and Jonathan Tavares, with the assistance of Mairead Horton

The Art Institute of Chicago is pleased to open the newly designed Eloise W. Martin Galleries for the Applied Arts of Europe on 11 July 2025. The elegant space will present more than 300 objects from the Art Institute’s distinguished collections of furniture, silver, ceramics, and glass made between 1600 and 1900. The expanded presentation will allow 40% more objects to be on view than our previously installed galleries, and offer visitors a deeper and more nuanced exploration of European design during a period of extraordinary transformation.

This 4,500-square-foot space follows a chronological narrative and examines the dynamic intersection of design, craftsmanship, and commerce against a backdrop of geopolitical shifts, colonialism, and innovation. This setting provided fertile ground for designers, craftspeople, and consumers to embrace new technologies and respond to the allure of newly imported materials, such as Asian porcelain and lacquer and tropical hardwoods. Iconic works from the Art Institute’s collection as well as rarely seen pieces appear alongside new acquisitions and select loans from private collections, all presented with interpretive materials that emphasize the ingenuity of European makers working in increasingly global markets.

“We hope that this ambitious reinstallation allows visitors to consider the daring innovations of European designers during this vibrant period,” said Ellenor Alcorn, chair and Eloise W. Martin Curator of Applied Arts of Europe. “We are thrilled to present these objects in a space that invites close looking, deep reflection, and renewed appreciation for the craftsmanship and global influence that shaped design from the 17th through the 19th centuries.”

Pair of Chinese porcelain vases, with mounts attributed to Jean-Claude Duplessis, ca. 1750, hard paste porcelain and gilt bronze, 14 inches high
(Art Institute of Chicago, purchased with funds provided by the Antiquarian Society, 2021.135.1-2)

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Highlights of the collection on view include a finely carved chair crafted by Indian artisans for a European merchant in Madras (present day Chennai) in the late 1600s, a pair of rare red-glazed Chinese porcelain vases imported to Paris in the mid-1700s where they were mounted in exuberant gilded bronze, and a striking English neo-Gothic sideboard designed by William Burges in the mid-1800s, painted with witty wine-themed references. A dramatic new room is also dedicated to the Art Institute’s outstanding collection of European ceramics, including one of the country’s finest groupings of Meissen and Du Paquier porcelain.

The renowned Barcelona-based architects Barozzi Veiga have designed a striking contemporary space integrating state-of-the-art casework and lighting. The galleries offer a stunning setting for the creativity and innovation that defined European design during this dynamic period.

The reinstallation is curated by the department of Applied Arts of Europe: Ellenor Alcorn, chair and Eloise W. Martin Curator; Christopher Maxwell, Samuel and M. Patricia Grober Curator; and Jonathan Tavares, Amy and Paul Carbone Curator, with the assistance of Mairead Horton, research associate.

From the press release (26 June 2025) . . .

The Minneapolis Institute of Art (Mia) announces the acquisition of eight exceptional works spanning nearly eight centuries, from a rare 13th-century Limoges enameled gemellion to contemporary photography by Carrie Mae Weems. These diverse acquisitions significantly strengthen key areas of the museum’s collection while addressing important gaps in others. Highlights include: a pair of monumental pedestals by Giacomo Raffaelli featuring the largest micromosaic compositions the artist ever attempted; an early Sèvres porcelain vase in the legendary ‘bleu nouveau’ glaze; a winter landscape by Blanche Hoschedé-Monet marking a pivotal moment in the artist’s emergence from Claude Monet’s tutelage; and a technically masterful Oribe tea bowl from early 17th-century Japan. Also acquired is the museum’s first Latin American colonial religious painting—a Virgin of Guadalupe painting attributed to the circle of artist Manuel de Arellano—that continues building one of Mia’s newer collecting areas.

“These remarkable acquisitions demonstrate our ongoing commitment to building a truly global collection that honors artistic excellence across time periods and cultures,” said Katie Luber, Nivin and Duncan MacMillan Director and President of Mia. “These works will enhance our visitors’ understanding of the diverse artistic traditions that have shaped human expression, from 13th-century France to 17th-century Japan, to the United States in the 2020s. Whether we are filling crucial gaps in our holdings—like our first colonial Latin American religious painting—or strengthening existing collections, our goal remains the same: to present the most compelling and comprehensive story of art’s power to illuminate the human experience across centuries and continents.”

Carrie Mae Weems (American, born 1953), Painting the Town #4, 2021 (printed 2024).

This pigment print by Carrie Mae Weems exemplifies the artist’s masterful ability to transform documentary photography into profound social commentary and significantly strengthens Mia’s contemporary photography holdings. At first glance, Painting the Town #4 appears to be an abstract composition of vibrant painted rectangles, reminiscent of Mark Rothko or Robert Motherwell. Closer examination reveals it to be a boarded-up Portland storefront—complete with knotty plywood and covered graffiti—photographed in 2021, during the aftermath of the 2020 protests following George Floyd’s murder. Weems’ art historical references are deliberate. By evoking abstract expressionist aesthetics in this pandemic-era streetscape, she lures in viewers but then confronts them with the raw signifiers of contemporary social upheaval. Part of her acclaimed Painting the Town series, this work represents the rare pandemic project that transcends mere documentation. One of America’s most influential living artists, Weems’ four-decade career has consistently given voice to silenced stories while investigating the intersections of history, identity, and power.

Circle of Manuel de Arellano, Virgen de Guadalupe, 1700–50.

Circle of Manuel de Arellano, Virgen de Guadalupe (detail), 1700–50, oil on canvas (Minneapolis: Mia, The William Hood Dunwoody Fund, 2025.39).

This exceptional oil on canvas represents a pivotal addition to Mia’s collection as the first Latin American religious image from the colonial period, from which distinctive artistic traditions emerged with the Spanish imposition of Catholicism blending with Indigenous religions. Attributed to the circle of Manuel de Arellano, the renowned Mexican artist who, along with his father Antonio, operated a prominent studio in Mexico City during the late 17th and early 18th centuries, this work exemplifies the innovative approach the Arellanos brought to traditional Guadalupe iconography.

The Virgin of Guadalupe depicted here represents one of the most widely recognized and culturally significant religious images in the Americas—an enduring symbol, declared patroness of New Spain in 1746 and later empress of the Americas in 1933. The painting synthesizes diverse iconographic traditions: The dark-skinned Virgin wears a light-pink tunic with golden floral motifs and a star-covered blue mantle, standing on a crescent moon supported by an angel whose wings bear the colors of the Mexican flag. This blends the Virgin of the Apocalypse imagery from Revelation with Immaculate Conception iconography, while incorporating Indigenous elements that reflect the legend of the Virgin’s appearance to Juan Diego at Tepeyac Hill, a site sacred to the Aztec goddess Tonantzin.

Enameled gemellion with horse and rider, ca. 1250–75, Limoges, France.

This exceptional enameled gemellion represents a significant addition to the museum’s medieval collection and showcases the full splendor of Limoges champlevé enamel technique on gilded copper, demonstrating the workshop traditions that made this French city renowned throughout medieval Europe. Moreover, the rarity of this gemellion cannot be overstated—fewer than 110 examples of these Limousin hand-washing vessels are known to survive from the Middle Ages.

As a catch basin lacking the characteristic pouring spout, it represents half of what would have originally been a paired set, used for the ritualized washing of hands in both religious and secular contexts. The vessel’s secular iconography of horse and rider reflects the sophisticated courtly culture of the 13th century, when such imagery proliferated on luxury objects—many of which eventually found their way into ecclesiastical treasuries as pious donations. The object highlights the technical mastery of champlevé enameling, where colored glass is fused into carved copper channels and enhanced with precious gilding.

Giacomo Raffaelli (Italian, 1753–1836), Pair of marble, micromosaic, and gilt-bronze pedestals, 1790s.

Giacomo Raffaelli, Pair of Italian marble, micromosaic, and gilt-bronze pedestals, 1790s, each 114 × 37 × 29 cm (Minneapolis: Mia, The Walter C. and Mary C. Briggs Trust Fund and gift of funds from John Lindahl, 2025.37.1.1, 2).

These pedestals by Giacomo Raffaelli represent the pinnacle of 18th-century Italian decorative arts by the undisputed master of micromosaic technique. The pedestals showcase his revolutionary approach to the ancient art of mosaic, employing tesserae so minutely crafted that hundreds—even thousands—fit within a single square inch, refining the art form to a new level that dates back to classical antiquity. Constructed from Carrara marble and enhanced with gilt bronze, these pedestals elevate the functional object of the pedestal to the realm of high art through their integration of precious materials and extraordinary craftsmanship. Moreover, the micromosaic panels on these pedestals are among the largest continuous compositions Raffaelli ever attempted, far exceeding the intimate scale of the snuffboxes and bonbonnières for which he is best known. The iconography—featuring birds, flowers, vases, and butterflies symbolizing Psyche and the soul—connects to the most prestigious commission of 18th-century Rome: Palazzo Braschi, the lavishly decorated residence of Pope Pius VI’s nephew. These objects reinforce Mia’s already strong collections of Italian 18th-century decorative arts—and will provide visitors with an unparalleled example of how Roman workshops operated during this golden age of decorative arts.

Sèvres Porcelain Factory (Paris, 1756–present), Greek vase with medallions, ca. 1765.

In the 1760s, the Manufacture Royale de Sèvres—the supreme expression of French state-sponsored artistry—moved away from Rococo frivolity toward the clarity of neoclassicism. This exceptional—and exceptionally rare—Greek vase exemplifies this dramatic shift, with its bold rectilinear Greek meander pattern encircling a form derived from a fluted column base. It also showcases the legendary ‘bleu nouveau’, the lapis lazuli imitation glaze that became an iconic color in French design. Only nine of these vases were ever produced. This pristine example strengthens Mia’s neoclassical collections, documenting a transformative period when European decorative arts shifted focus to the simplicity of classical antiquity. It is the earliest Sèvres porcelain in Mia’s collection and the museum’s first example of this celebrated 18th-century blue glaze technique.

Blanche Hoschedé-Monet (French, 1865–1947), Snowy Country Road, Le Val near Giverny, 1888.

This winter landscape by Blanche Hoschedé-Monet represents a pivotal moment in both the artist’s career and the broader story of Impressionism at Giverny. Painted in early 1888 when the artist was just 23, this oil on canvas captures the snowy country road leading to the family home she shared with her stepfather, Claude Monet. The work has been newly identified as her likely first submission to the Paris Salon, marking her emergence as an independent artist after five years of accompanying Monet on his daily painting excursions.

Hoschedé-Monet was Monet’s only true pupil and later became instrumental in completing his monumental Water Lilies cycles. Executed during Monet’s absence in Antibes, the painting embodies his hopes for her artistic development, as he wrote to her mother: “I hope that Blanche, left to her own devices, will make a serious effort.” The artist demonstrates remarkable technical sophistication in her handling of snow effects, balancing bold white impasto with subtle shadows of blue, gray, and green, while injecting warmth through delicate touches of pink and yellow. For Mia, this acquisition builds on the museum’s already strong collection of Giverny-related works, joining masterpieces by Claude Monet, Theodore Robinson, and Frederick Carl Frieseke.

Louis Welden Hawkins (French / born Germany, 1849–1910), Sa demeure, ca. 1899.

Louis Weldon Hawkins began his career as a naturalist painter before aligning himself with more radical symbolist circles in the 1890s. This enigmatic garden scene captures a moment of synthesis between these two styles: the composition is of a scene of nature, yet is filled with mysterious objects—a broom, bucket, rope, table, chairs, and blue cloth draped over a branch—that function as symbolic clues without revealing their meaning. The curving apple tree branch reflects the influence of Japanese prints on symbolist artists of the period, while two sensitively rendered chickadees perch as though engaged in secret conversation, adding to the work’s air of quiet mystery. Kept with its original frame, this mid-career work provides Mia’s visitors an exceptional opportunity to encounter the sophisticated visual poetry that defined symbolist painting at its height. Executed in an unusual, nearly square format that enhances its contemplative quality, Hawkins created a scene that is simultaneously specific and timeless. And the painting’s elusive title—Sa demeure (‘his home’, or ‘its home’)—further compounds its mysterious allegory.

Clog-shaped tea bowl with wisteria motif, early 17th century, Japan, Edo period (1603–1868).

Clog-shaped tea bowl with wisteria motif, Japan, early 17th century. Mino ware, black Oribe type; glazed stoneware with glaze inlays (Minneapolis: Mia, The Mary Griggs Burke Endowment Fund established by the Mary Livingston Griggs and Mary Griggs Burke Foundation. 2025.45).

This clog-shaped tea bowl represents one of the most complex and labor-intensive examples of black Oribe ceramics, embodying the radical aesthetic experimentation that defined early 17th century Japanese tea culture. Named after the influential tea master and samurai Furuta Oribe, this style emerged from the Mino kilns of Gifu Prefecture during a brief but revolutionary period when tea practitioners pushed novelty to its limits, seeking what contemporaries described as the ‘warped’ (hizumitaru) aesthetic. The bowl’s sophisticated decoration—where black glaze was selectively scraped away and exposed areas were then filled with white clay slip, requiring each motif to be glazed separately rather than uniformly—demonstrates the extraordinary precision demanded by Oribe ware production. The horizontal spray of wisteria flowers, traditionally associated with early summer and typically depicted in vertical clusters, suggests this work may have been a special seasonal commission.

While Mia has an extensive Japanese ceramics collection, this work is a significant addition reflecting Japan’s enduring tea culture. The bowl’s deliberately triangular profile defies conventional ceramic forms. At the same time, its construction showcases exceptional technical mastery: after wheel-throwing and shaping, artisans omitted the traditional foot rim in favor of an intricately crafted, separately fabricated high-splayed foot with hollow interior, possibly influenced by imported glass or metalware bases. It captures a pivotal moment when Japanese tea masters embraced deliberate irregularity and bold innovation, forever changing the aesthetic landscape of ceremonial tea culture.

Library Exhibition Hall and West Hall, The Huntington, San Marino, California
(Photo by David Esquivel)

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From the press release (24 June 2025) . . .

Modernization of The Huntington’s Library building aims to connect collections, expand conservation capacity, enhance research access, and deepen public engagement.

Key Takeaways
• A multiyear renovation will strengthen how the Library and Art Museum’s collections support research, conservation, and public engagement.
• Plans include an 8,000-square-foot expansion of conservation studio capacity, redesigned exhibition spaces, and a new gallery focused on the history of science.
• The groundbreaking is planned for spring 2026.
• During construction, the Library will remain open to researchers, while a new exhibition series in the Art Museum showcases the Library’s book and manuscript collections.

In spring 2026, The Huntington will begin an extensive renovation of its Library building, designed in 1919 by architect Myron Hunt, a leading figure of early 20th-century Southern California architecture. The project will revitalize the Library’s landmark exhibition halls and replace outdated back-of-house space with modern facilities that serve both the Library and Art Museum. The unified Library/Art Building (LAB) will be a transformative 83,000-square-foot modernization that honors the building’s historic character while reimagining its spaces for interdivisional collaboration. The design is being led by RAMSA (Robert A.M. Stern Architects). Samuel Anderson Architects is providing expertise on collections storage and conservation studio design.

The idea took shape when President Karen R. Lawrence sought a single solution to meet needs that emerged in both the Library and Art Museum. Her proposal reflected the institution’s strategic plan, which calls for integrated, cross-divisional approaches under the guiding principle of “One Huntington.” With support from senior colleagues and the Board of Trustees, the concept advanced as a unified investment in conservation infrastructure, collections care, and the visitor and researcher experience.

The LAB will replace legacy book stacks with state-of-the-art storage for more than eight linear miles of the Library’s book and manuscript collections, along with the Art Museum’s 38,000 works on paper. Light-filled, modernized spaces for consultation, collaboration, and meetings will support cross-disciplinary exchange among staff, fellows, and general readers. The building will also include a dedicated conservation studio for treating paintings and objects.

“This is the most ambitious building project in The Huntington’s history,” President Lawrence said. “It reflects our commitment to stewardship, scholarship, and public engagement, and to creating spaces that will serve our collections and our communities for the next century.”

Photograph of Henry E. Huntington in front of the Library’s bronze doors, ca. 1920 (The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens).

Henry E. Huntington was once asked whether he planned to write an autobiography describing his career. He demurred and said in response, “This Library will tell the story; it represents the reward of all the work that I have ever done and the realization of much happiness.”

A century later, The Huntington ranks among the world’s great independent research libraries, holding a growing collection of some 12 million rare books, manuscripts, photographs, prints, drawings, and ephemera. Each year, the Library welcomes thousands of researchers, including more than 175 fellows in the nation’s largest humanities research program. To further support these visiting fellows, The Huntington is also developing Scholars Grove—a 33-unit residential complex that will provide convenient, reasonably priced housing and community space on campus.

“The Library has always anchored The Huntington’s commitment to knowledge and public access,” said Sandra Brooke Gordon, Avery Director of the Library. “Now, we’re evolving that legacy with revitalized spaces designed to support collaboration and a broader community of researchers. The LAB will also enhance the experience of the hundreds of thousands of visitors who each year discover the Library’s collections in our exhibition halls.”

While the Library’s exhibition halls are closed for renovation, visitors can experience some of its most iconic and unexpected works in the exhibition series Stories from the Library, located in the Huntington Art Museum.

Stories from the Library debuted 21 June 2025, with two exhibitions: one centered on Geoffrey Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, the other on visionary figures who have shaped Los Angeles. The series will continue through 2028. The research library will remain open throughout construction of the LAB. All of the Library’s collections will be on site and available to researchers.

The LAB will also become the new home for the Art Museum’s extensive collection of works on paper—over 38,000 drawings, watercolors, and prints, representing upwards of 80% of its holdings. Because these works are light sensitive, this major part of the art collection is rarely accessible to the public in gallery displays. A new Works on Paper Study Center will provide space for consultation, research, and display, expanding access for scholars, students, and early-career professionals.

“Housing the museum’s works on paper and library collections under one roof will deepen scholarship and spark new forms of inquiry,” said Christina Nielsen, Hannah and Russel Kully Director of the Art Museum. “This kind of proximity will foster not only interdisciplinary research but richer, more nuanced exhibitions.”

The Art Museum’s collection features over 45,000 artworks from Europe, America, and East Asia that span more than 2,000 years. Conserving paintings and objects across the Art Museum and Library’s collections helps preserve fragile materials for future generations and yields new information about how they were made and used.

The LAB will not only integrate staff but also significantly enhance experiences for general visitors to The Huntington. A new gallery dedicated to the history of science will replace the former “Beautiful Science” exhibition with “Worlds Unfolding: Science on the Page.” The new installation will showcase the Library’s extensive holdings in science, technology, and medicine. It will feature a diverse selection of medieval through modern works on topics ranging from astronomy, anatomy, and geology to electricity, the aerospace industry, and futuristic dream worlds of science fiction.

Expanding public access to its collections has long been central to The Huntington’s mission, and today, a wide range of readers makes use of its research resources. Any adult working on a research project that is well served by the collections is welcome to apply for a reader’s card. Fifteen percent of recent consultations have come from beyond the traditional ranks of advanced researchers, reflecting the Library’s broadened access for artists, writers, and community researchers. The LAB will support this wider audience with accessible study areas, clearer navigation, and more streamlined access to research materials—ensuring that rare items are both useable and protected.

As groundbreaking approaches in spring 2026, The Huntington nears completion of its $126.6 million fundraising campaign. More than $100 million has already been committed by foundations and donors who recognize the project’s long-term impact.

Generous support for the Stories from the Library exhibition series is provided by the Robert F. Erburu Exhibition Endowment. Additional support is provided by The Neilan Foundation, the Steinmetz Foundation, and Laura and Carlton Seaver.

Manuel de Arellano, Creole Woman from the City of Guadalajara and Creole Man from Mexico City, ca. 1710, oil on canvas, each 109 × 84.5 cm (Los Angeles County Museum of Art, gift of the 2025 Collectors Committee with additional funds from an anonymous donor, photo courtesy of Colnaghi, Madrid).

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As noted at the Art History News blog; from the LACMA essay (30 April 2025) by Ilona Katzew, who leads the museum’s Latin American department:

This week we added a unique pair of paintings by Manuel de Arellano (1662–1722) to the collection. The works are remarkable in terms of their execution, subject, and pivotal place in the history of 18th-century Mexican painting. Conceived as a pair, they depict a man and a woman within a fictive oval frame, a format traditionally reserved for distinguished figures. Yet, they are not portraits of actual individuals but of different racial types. In fact, these two paintings are groundbreaking precursors of the famous casta (caste) paintings, a distinctive pictorial genre invented in Mexico to depict multiracial families that spanned the entire 18th century.

Manuel de Arellano came from a prominent dynasty of artists active in Mexico City. He trained with his father, Antonio de Arellano (1638–1714), and by 1690 he was working independently and creating paintings marked by a great deal of experimentation. These works developed during a period of political shifts and mounting social and racial tensions in Mexico City. In 1692, just a few years before the ascent of the Bourbons to the Spanish throne (1700), a major riot erupted in the main square, when the Indigenous population and mixed-raced working-class, outraged over the scarcity of basic food staples and the mishandling of power, set fire to the viceregal palace, threatening to overthrow the colonial government.

Spaniards born in the Americas—known as Criollos (Creoles)—grew equally frustrated with imperial authorities, who treated them as second-class citizens and often passed them over for important civil and ecclesiastical posts. Added to this, the common misconception in Europe that everyone in the Americas was a degraded hybrid further tarnished the reputation of Creoles, casting into question their ability to rule. Arellano’s works responded to these concerns by constructing a view of a mixed yet orderly and prosperous society. His monumental view of the transfer of the original image of the Virgin of Guadalupe to her new shrine is a tour de force that captures Mexico City’s complex social hierarchy in minute detail.

LACMA’s new acquisitions are the first paintings to single out Mexico’s diverse population, setting forth the path for the development of casta painting across the 18th century. The inscriptions on the works identify the racial types and situate them geographically. They read: “Creole Woman from the City of Guadalajara, Daughter of a Basque Man and a Creole Woman” and “Creole Man from Mexico City, Capital of America, the Son of a Portuguese Man and a Creole Woman.” The unusual scrolling banderoles in Italian may be related to the original commission and their intended use, a subject that requires further study. . . .

The full essay (with reading suggestions) is available here»

As noted at the Art History News Blog; from the press release (24 June 2025) . . .

Xavier F. Salomon, the current Deputy Director and Peter Jay Sharp Chief Curator of the Frick Collection in New York, has been chosen by the Gulbenkian Foundation’s Board of Trustees as Director of the Calouste Gulbenkian Museum in Lisbon. Following an international recruitment process, Solomon will succeed António Filipe Pimentel, who will retire at the beginning of next year.

Xavier F. Salomon was born in Rome [in 1979] and grew up between Italy and the United Kingdom. He was educated at the Courtauld Institute of Art in London, where he received his BA in art history, his MA, and his PhD with a thesis on “The Religious, Artistic, and Architectural Patronage of Cardinal Pietro Aldobrandini (1571–1621).”

Salomon worked at the British Museum and at the National Gallery in London, before joining, in 2006, Dulwich Picture Gallery as the Arturo and Holly Melosi Chief Curator. At Dulwich, Salomon curated many exhibitions on artists such as Guido Reni, Paolo Veronese, Salvator Rosa, Anthony van Dyck, Nicolas Poussin, and Cy Twombly. In 2011, he joined the Department of European Paintings at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, as Curator of Southern Baroque, in charge of Italian paintings from the 17th and 18th century, French 17th-century, and Spanish paintings. In 2014, he curated the monographic exhibition Paolo Veronese: Magnificence in Renaissance Venice at the National Gallery in London.

Since 2014, he has been Deputy Director and Peter Jay Sharp Chief Curator at the Frick Collection in New York where he curated exhibitions on artists such as Guido Cagnacci, Paolo Veronese, Antonio Canova, Giambattista Tiepolo, Luigi Valadier, Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, Bertoldo di Giovanni, Giovanni Bellini, and Giorgione. He also worked on projects with contemporary artists such as Doron Langberg, Salman Toor, Jenna Gribbon, Nicolas Party, and Flora Yukhnovich. In 2022, he curated the exhibitions James McNeill Whistler (1834–1903): Masterpieces of the Frick Collection, New York at the Musée d’Orsay in Paris and The Polish Rider: The King’s Rembrandt at the Royal Łazienki Museum, Warsaw and Wawel Royal Castle, Kraków. In recent years, he supervised the renovation of the galleries at the Frick, moving them first in 2021 to Frick Madison and then back to the historic location of the museum, which reopened in April 2025.

Salomon is the author of the acclaimed online series Cocktails with a Curator and Travels with a Curator and of the book thereon (2022). He is widely published and his scholarly articles have appeared in The Burlington Magazine, Apollo, Journal of the History of Collections, Master Drawings, The Metropolitan Museum Journal, and the Boletín del Museo del Prado, among others. He was a Rome Scholar at the British School at Rome in 2002–03; a Fellow at the Robert H. Smith International Center for Jefferson Studies in Monticello, Virginia in 2017; and a Leigh Fermor House Fellow at the Benaki Museum, Athens in 2024.

Salomon’s main areas of expertise are art and patronage in 17th- and 18th-century Rome and Venice, and the painters Paolo Veronese and Rosalba Carriera. He is currently working on a new catalogue raisonné of Paolo Veronese’s drawings and one of Rosalba Carriera’s works, while working also on the catalogue of the Spanish paintings at the Frick Collection. In 2018, Salomon was nominated Cavaliere della Stella d’Italia by the Italian President of the Republic.

The Calouste Gulbenkian Museum in Lisbon, Portugal houses the collection gathered by Calouste Sarkis Gulbenkian throughout his life (1869–1955). The collection includes more than 6,000 pieces from antiquity to the early 20th century, including Egyptian, Greco-Roman, Islamic, and Far Eastern art, as well as European numismatics, paintings, and decorative arts. Currently closed, the museum will reopen in the summer of 2026, after the extensive renovation of the air conditioning, lighting, and security systems in its galleries.

From the press release:

Annabelle Selldorf, Principal of Selldorf Architects, photographed at The Frick just before it reopened in April following a five-year renovation led by Selldorf.

The Wallace Collection is pleased to announce that Selldorf Architects, in collaboration with Purcell and Lawson Ward Studio, has been appointed to lead the design and delivery of a transformational masterplan for Hertford House, the museum’s historic home in London.

This ambitious project will reimagine and revitalise the museum’s spaces for the 21st century, preserving the charm and unique character of the building while improving access, sustainability, and visitor experience. The masterplan marks a significant investment in the long-term future of the museum and its ability to connect diverse audiences with one of the world’s most remarkable art collections. Selldorf Architects, renowned for their work with leading cultural institutions including The National Gallery, the recently reopened Frick Collection, and the Neue Galerie, will serve as Lead Design Architect.

They are joined by Purcell, the UK’s largest team of heritage architects and long-standing heritage consultants to the Wallace Collection, and Lawson Ward Studio, who developed the original project brief and who bring expertise in cultural learning environments—the practice being responsible for the recently opened Roden Centre for Creative Learning at the National Gallery. Together, the team brings exceptional international experience in museum and gallery design, combined with a deep understanding of Hertford House and the operational needs of the Wallace Collection. Their joint appointment has been made under public procurement regulations and represents a once in a lifetime opportunity to re-visit the collection and its setting and to enhance the experience for its friends and visitors.

The announcement comes in the Collection’s 125th anniversary year and as it celebrates a number of significant milestones in public engagement. It recently welcomed over 500,000 visitors in a single year for the first time, helped by the 2020 launch of an international lending programme that has extended the Collection’s impact and contributed to a series of acclaimed exhibitions. Among these, Frans Hals: The Male Portrait brought together the artist’s best male portraits from collections across the UK, Europe, and North America. In 2023, Portraits of Dogs: From Gainsborough to Hockney proved hugely popular with audiences, and last year, Ranjit Singh: Sikh, Warrior, King made an important contribution to extending the museum’s audience. The forthcoming display of Caravaggio’s Victorious Cupid (1601–02)—a major loan from Berlin’s Gemäldegalerie and the first time the painting has been shown in the UK—will be another landmark moment, reinforcing the Collection’s growing ambition and profile on the international stage.

The masterplan will address a wide range of priorities: from improving visitor welcome and circulation to enhancing gallery spaces, creating a new Learning Centre, upgrading environmental conditions and improving accessibility throughout the historic site. There is also potential to reimagine the museum’s dedicated temporary exhibition space, restaurant and event facilities, and for critical improvements to be made to staff and back-of-house areas—all designed with sensitivity to the listed building and its distinctive character.

Director of the Wallace Collection, Dr Xavier Bray, said: “The Wallace Collection occupies a unique place in the national and international museum landscape—an exceptional collection in an extraordinary historic home. We are delighted to be working with Selldorf Architects, Purcell and Lawson Ward Studio on the next chapter in the museum’s history. Their thoughtful, collaborative approach and track record of working with complex heritage buildings gives us great confidence as we embark on this transformational journey.”

Annabelle Selldorf, Principal of Selldorf Architects, said: “We are looking forward to working with the Wallace Collection to enhance the unique experience of visiting Hertford House, making their magnificent collection of paintings, decorative arts and arms and armour more accessible. Engaging a wider audience with art and the building’s beautiful architecture is vital and the project presents an exciting opportunity to re-examine essential aspects of the visitor’s experience. Bringing people closer to art matters to us and is a core part of our firm’s work.”

The Wallace Collection’s masterplan is currently in its early stages, with detailed design development, stakeholder engagement and technical surveys set to continue throughout 2025. A comprehensive fundraising campaign is being developed to realise the bold ambitions of the masterplan. The project aims to deliver an integrated and phased programme of works that will support the museum’s evolving offer, public engagement ambitions, and long-term sustainability goals.

Left: Guercino, King David, 1651, oil on canvas, 224 × 170 cm (Accepted in lieu of Inheritance Tax by HM Government and allocated to the National Gallery). Right: John Deare, Edward and Eleanor, 1790, marble (Accepted in Lieu of Inheritance Tax from the Estate of Jacob, 4th Baron Rothschild and allocated to the Victoria and Albert Museum).

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From the press release:

The legacy of UK cultural luminary Jacob, 4th Baron Rothschild (1936–2024) is being celebrated by two of his artworks joining the collections of the National Gallery and the V&A, through the Acceptance in Lieu scheme. The National Gallery—where Jacob, 4th Baron Rothschild served as Chair of Trustees between 1985 and 1998—will receive King David (1651) by renowned Bolognese painter Giovanni Francesco Barbieri (1591–1666), known as Guercino, reuniting it with the two works both created to be its pendant, already part of the Trafalgar Square collection. The V&A will receive the marble relief Edward and Eleanor (1790) by John Deare (1759–1798), one of the most talented neoclassical sculptors working at the end of the 18th century.

Jacob, 4th Baron Rothschild, in addition to chairing the National Gallery, led the National Lottery Heritage Fund and the family’s flagship, Waddesdon Manor. He supported many causes, some close to his home in Buckinghamshire, others as far afield as Albania, Greece, Israel, and the United States. He was committed to helping communities, the environment, education and above all, the arts. His exemplary service to his country was recognised on several occasions, with a GBE, a CVO and as a member of the Order of Merit.

His daughter, Dame Hannah Rothschild—who also served as Chair of the National Gallery—said, “My father, Jacob, was a devoted patron of the arts and a steadfast champion of the National Gallery. He regarded Guercino’s King David, a masterwork of the Italian Baroque, as one of the crowning acquisitions of his lifetime. It was his wish to see King David reunited with its two Sibyls at the National Gallery and his family is grateful to the AIL Panel and to the National Gallery for giving it a distinguished home amongst such illustrious company. The exquisite marble relief by John Deare is of such rarity and importance that my father, Jacob, felt it must find its home in a national institution. Our family is delighted that the AIL Panel and the V&A have accepted this bequest, fulfilling his vision with such care and distinction.”

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Celebrated as one of the most innovative and gifted British neoclassical sculptors, John Deare (1759–1798) spent most of his career in Rome, where the relief of Edward and Eleanor was carved in 1790. Due to his early death at age 38, his production was limited to around fifty documented works, though very few of these are known today. The majority were reliefs of classical and allegorical subjects or related to English history, commissioned by British Grand Tourists to decorate their country houses.

Until now, only two other marble sculptures by Deare were held in British public collections: Cupid and Psyche (1791) at the Bradford District Museums & Galleries and Julius Caesar Invading Britain (1796) acquired by the V&A in 2011 (on display in the Hintze Gallery, G22). Plaster versions of the Edward and Eleanor composition are held at Wimpole Hall and at the Walker Art Gallery.

The relief depicting Eleanor of Castile sucking poison from the wound of Prince Edward (later Edward I) will be installed in the British Galleries (G119) at V&A South Kensington later this year—the first time it has been on public display. In this exceptional relief, which demonstrates Deare’s virtuoso technique in carving marble with great subtlety, the sculptor has adapted an episode of medieval British history into a depiction of Greek history, in a refined neoclassical style.

The work is of particular interest to the V&A, as it predates the Caesar Invading Britain relief and shows various sources of inspiration in the composition, including the paintings of Angelika Kauffman. The V&A also holds several albums of drawings by John Deare, including a study of a woman (E.260-1968) believed to be preparatory for the figure of Eleanor.

Much remains to be discovered about Deare’s production. The V&A is hosting an international conference on 16 and 17 May 2025 on the theme of sculptural exchanges between Italy and Britain in the 18th and 19th centuries, where the relief will be the focus of a spotlight presentation, marking the start of a new line of research into the artist’s work.

Tristram Hunt, Director of the V&A, said: “These remarkable acquisitions, made possible by the Acceptance in Lieu scheme, will forever represent Lord Rothschild’s legacy as a great connoisseur, champion of the arts and relentless supporter of British cultural institutions.”

John Deare (1759–1798) Edward and Eleanor: Accepted in Lieu of Inheritance Tax from the Estate of Jacob, 4th Baron Rothschild and allocated to the Victoria and Albert Museum. The acceptance of this sculpture settled £1,120,000 in tax.

Additional information about Guercino’s King David is available from the full press release»

View of the National Gallery Sainsbury Wing from Trafalgar Square. After contentious early designs were scuttled in the 1980s, the Sainsbury Wing, as conceived by Robert Venturi and Denise Scott Brown, opened in 1991. The latest revisioning, an £85m project, was led by Annabelle Selldorf. (Photo by Edmund Sumner, ©The National Gallery, London).

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From the press release (9 May 2025) . . .

The National Gallery’s new main entrance reopened to the public on Saturday 10 May 2025, as part of the Gallery’s 200th birthday celebrations.

View looking up the main staircase of the Sainsbury Wing (Photo by Edmund Sumner, ©The National Gallery, London).

The Sainsbury Wing closed in February 2023 to undergo sensitive interventions to its external façade, foyer, and first floor, providing a better and more welcoming first experience to the National Gallery’s millions of visitors, in a plan designed by New York-based Selldorf Architects, working with heritage architects Purcell.

At the entrance, some of the Gallery’s footprint has been given over to public realm, creating a ‘square-within-a-square’, and leading to a more spacious entrance to the Gallery. The original dark glass of the stairs up to the gallery spaces has been replaced with clear glazing, bringing daylight across the foyer while revealing subtle views of the 1830s National Gallery building by William Wilkins (1778–1839). The glazing also allows people in Trafalgar Square to see directly into the Gallery for the first time.

This entrance opens into a new double-height foyer, which is larger, more open, and brightly lit. A 12-metre wide, 16K screen shows astounding details of National Gallery paintings. Visitors will find a new espresso bar, ‘Bar Giorgio’, by Giorgio Locatelli, on the ground floor. ‘Locatelli’, the restaurant by the same chef, will be on the mezzanine level, alongside a new bookshop and spaces for meetings and events. A bar will provide the to-date only publicly accessible space in London to enjoy a drink with views onto Trafalgar Square.

Paula Figueiroa Rego (1935–2022), Crivelli’s Garden, 1990–91, acrylic on canvas. Commissioned by the National Gallery in 1989, the painting responds to the predella of Carlo Crivelli’s Madonna of the Swallow (1491)—with an emphasis on the actions of strong women.

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Facing the restaurant diners will be Paula Rego’s (1935–2022) Crivelli’s Garden (1990–91). Rego was the National Gallery’s first Associate Artist and was inspired to create the work by looking at Renaissance paintings by Carlo Crivelli (about 1430/5 – about 1494) for the Sainsbury Wing Dining Room on its original opening in 1991.

Also reopening is the recently renamed Pigott Theatre, on the lower ground floor. The theatre has been fully refurbished with a new colour scheme and refitted for increased comfort and accessibility, including level access to the stage.

The palette of high-quality materials used throughout the new spaces includes the same grey Florentine limestone (pietra serena) employed in the Venturi-Scott Brown designed gallery spaces, along with Chamesson limestone from northern Burgundy, slate, oak, and black granite. Wherever possible existing materials have been re-used, recycled, or repurposed in other building projects.

The NG200 Welcome project has been made possible thanks to support from many generous donations, from both major benefactors and members of the public. In particular, The Linbury Trust and The Headley Trust which, together with The Monument Trust, funded the original establishment of the Sainsbury Wing 35 years ago, have been instrumental in helping the Gallery to realise the evolution of the building for its changing visitor needs.

Statements by Timothy Sainsbury, Gabriele Finaldi, Annabelle Selldorf, and Chris Bryant are available in the full press release.

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In his review of the newly unveiled spaces, Oliver Wainwright provides a useful summary of the architectural controversies that have always been part of the Sainsbury Wing’s history.

Oliver Wainwright, “‘Tranquillising Good Taste’: Can the National Gallery’s Airy New Entrance Exorcise Its Demons?” The Guardian (6 May 2025). When the Sainsbury Wing opened, it was called ‘vulgar pastiche’. Now, after an £85m revamp, it has become the famous gallery’s main entrance. But have its spiky complexities been tamed? And why all the empty space?

When the Sainsbury Wing first opened in 1991, it was not loved. It was variously slammed as “a vulgar American piece of postmodern mannerist pastiche” and “picturesque mediocre slime.” It was too traditional for modernists and too playful for traditionalists. Its dark, low-ceilinged entrance was damned as “a nasty cellar-like space” cluttered with a maze of (non-structural) columns. “It just didn’t work,” says the gallery’s deputy director, Paul Gray, adding that visitor numbers have swelled from three million back then to approaching six million now. The wing was never intended to handle such volumes. “The modern visitor expects so much more now. They want big, open, welcoming spaces, and it never felt like that.”

But time garners affection. And there is nothing like the threat of change to arouse fondness. When Selldorf’s modernising plans were first unveiled in 2022, the same critics who had pooh-poohed Venturi Scott Brown’s design leapt to its defence. . . .

The full article is available here»

In Room 34 George Stubbs’s Whistlejacket (ca. 1762) is surrounded by a new ‘salon’ hang of British painting, 1740–1800.

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In addition to the reworking of the entrance and secondary spaces, galleries were rehung under the direction of Christine Riding, as described by Martin Bailey for The Art Newspaper:

Martin Bailey, “First Look: The ‘Once-in-a-Lifetime’ Rehang at London’s National Gallery,” The Art Newspaper (5 May 2025).

The Art Newspaper was given an early tour by Christine Riding, the director of collections and research, who has overseen the rehang. She describes her task as a “once-in-a-lifetime” opportunity. Now virtually completed, the rehang means that the National Gallery will show nearly 40% of its collection.

There will be 1,045 paintings hanging in the upper-floor rooms: 919 from the collection, plus 126 on loan. Nearly a third will be in the Sainsbury Wing and the rest on the main floor of the original Wilkins building. . . .

The number of works on display is slightly greater than before, thanks to a marginally denser hang, more glass cases in the centre of rooms, two walls with 34 plein-air landscape oil sketches (Room 39) and an additional space (Room 15a) with small Dutch pictures.

Riding has been particularly keen to emphasise “how artists have been influenced by their predecessors.” For instance, Elisabeth Vigée Le Brun’s Self Portrait in a Straw Hat (1782) is hung in the same octagonal space (Room 15) as the picture that inspired it, Peter Paul Rubens’s presumed Portrait of Susanna Lunden (1622–25). . . .

The Sainsbury Wing will now be the main entry point for visitors, with possibly more than 90% coming through there rather than via the portico or Getty entrances.

The full article is available here»

Room 34 of the National Gallery unveiled as the Blavatnik Family Foundation Room in recognition of its significant gift to the NG200 campaign.

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From the press release (7 May 2025) . . .

Room 34 of the National Gallery will today be unveiled as the Blavatnik Family Foundation Room in recognition of its significant gift to NG200. The generous gift marks the culmination of NG200, the National Gallery’s year-long bicentenary celebration of art, creativity, and imagination, marking two centuries of bringing people and paintings together.

Led by Sir Leonard Blavatnik, founder and chairman of Access Industries, the Blavatnik Family Foundation promotes innovation, discovery, and creativity to benefit the whole of society. Through the Foundation, the Blavatnik family has contributed over $1billion globally to advance science, education, arts and culture, and social justice. They have provided essential funding to dozens of scientists in the early stages of their careers through the Blavatnik Awards for Young Scientists, made major gifts to universities such as Harvard and Yale, and funded The Blavatnik School of Government at Oxford University. The Blavatnik Family Foundation has also supported more than 180 leading cultural organisations, including the National Portrait Gallery, Royal Academy, V&A, Courtauld, and the expansion of Tate Modern.

Room 34 of the National Gallery is a showcase of the best of British painting in the second half of the 18th century. It is home to such iconic works as the monumental horse painting Whistlejacket (about 1762) by George Stubbs (1727–1788), Mr and Mrs Andrews (about 1750) by Thomas Gainsborough (1727–1788), and William Hogarth’s (1697–1764) six painting series Marriage A-la Mode (about 1743).

Sir Leonard Blavatnik, said: “I’m delighted to support the National Gallery’s bicentenary and this magnificent room that celebrates Britain’s artistic heritage.”

Sir Gabriele Finaldi, Director of the National Gallery, said: “We are thrilled by the extraordinary and transformative philanthropy of the Blavatnik Family Foundation at this seminal moment in the National Gallery’s history and are delighted to recognise the generosity of the Blavatnik Family in one of our most beautiful and important rooms.”