Anthony D'Offay Gives 725 Artworks to British Collections

LONDON—Retired gallery owner Anthony d'Offay has donated 725 artworks to British art collections, Bloomberg reports. The artworks are valued at about £125 million ($250 million), but d'Offay is giving them for just £28 million, according to a press release from the Tate and the National Galleries of Scotland. The British and Scottish governments each contributed £10 million, while the National Heritage Memorial Fund gave £7 million and the Art Fund gave £1 million. Of that, d'Offay will keep £26.5 million and £1.5 million will cover the cost of administering the acquisitions. The collection includes artworks by Andy Warhol, Damien Hirst, Joseph Beuys, Anselm Kiefer, and Gilbert and George. It will be organized by "Artist Rooms" because d'Offay traditionally has arranged his holdings in a series of galleries, each housing works by a single artist.

"A gift of this magnitude will completely transform the opportunity to experience contemporary art in the U.K.," Tate director Nicholas Serota said in the press release. "Anthony d'Offay's imaginative generosity establishes a new dynamic for national collections and is without precedent anywhere in the world."