Ł125M National Art Collection to Tour the U.K.

Published: January 23, 2009

Damien Hirst Bruce Nauman Sol LeWitt Andy Warhol Bill Viola Gilbert and George Jeff Koons Vija Celmins

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LONDON— British art dealer and philanthropist Anthony D'Offay, along with the Tate Modern, has announced a traveling exhibition of nearly all of the 725-piece contemporary collection that D'Offay donated to the Tate and National Galleries of Scotland last year, the Independent reports.

D'Offay, who was lauded by Prime Minister Gordon Brown for his gift, donated the £125 million ($170.8 million) collection with the solitary condition that it be displayed to the public. This will become a reality as the tour, titled "Artist Rooms," will take in 18 museums and galleries throughout the U.K. in 2009, marking the first time a national collection will be shared and shown concurrently in this fashion. Nine million viewers are projected to see the show over the course of the year.

The first portion of the tour will include approximately two-thirds of the collection and will begin in March. It consists of works by Diane Arbus, Joseph Beuys, Gilbert & George, Damien Hirst, Jeff Koons, Sol LeWitt, Ron Mueck, Bruce Nauman, and Bill Viola, among others. Many of the pieces have not been shown outside the major museums and galleries in London.

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Tate director Nicholas Serota said that the show "...will be dramatic and transform the way contemporary art can be seen. It's an extraordinary exercise and unprecedented in the world that a collection has come into national ownership to be seen across the country." John Leighton, director of the National Galleries of Scotland, said that he would like to see the collection eventually displayed in traditionally non-art venues as well, in an effort to broaden contemporary art audiences. An arts charity, The Art Fund, has pledged to donate £250,000 annually for the next three years to assist the financing of the tour, which Serota hopes will continue indefinitely.

Highlights of the inaugural display at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art include Hirst's Away from the Flock (1994) and a number of Vija Celmins paintings seas and deserts. Meanwhile, Warhol posters and paintings, including his skull series depicting iconic figures such as Muhammad Ali and Jacqueline Kennedy, will travel to Wolverhampton. All shows, excluding one at the Tate St. Ives, will be free.

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