LONDON.- The National Gallery, the world’s pre-eminent collection of paintings made in the Western tradition, is announcing its largest transformation since its formation 200 years ago. This has already attracted £375m of cash pledges including the two largest ever publicly reported single cash donations to a museum or gallery globally.

As part of this exciting development, The Gallery is launching an international architectural competition for a brand-new wing to house an expanded collection. This competition is expected to attract both long established and exciting, younger architectural firms.

This funding will also support the Gallery's move to extend its historic collection and marks the beginning of an exciting new collaboration with Tate and other museums in the United Kingdom and around the world.

The National Gallery was formed to make great art accessible to all. With this new physical and artistic expansion, we are reaffirming our commitment to the public. We will broaden our engagement with local, national and international visitors through enhanced displays, exhibitions, research, public programmes and educational initiatives.

Project Domani, as we have called the initiative, will bolster the relevance of both the National Gallery and the UK within a highly competitive global cultural landscape.

Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said: "I've been clear that we want the arts to be accessible for everyone and that philanthropy is crucial to that mission.

"The new wing at the National Gallery will open up world class art for millions of people from home and abroad. I want to thank the generous donors who will help to transform the National Gallery, cementing its position as one of the most loved and visited institutions that will inspire people for generations."

A new wing of the National Gallery and transformation of surrounding public areas

The architectural competition (launching at midday on Wednesday 10 September) is the third stage of an ambitious masterplan commissioned by the Gallery in 2018.

The National Gallery’s renowned collection of great paintings and our ambition to develop this further for the benefit of a larger, more diverse public, demands a space that not only preserves and displays the artwork, but also elevates the visitor experience, enhancing the Gallery’s status as one of the most visited museums in the world.

The Gallery’s wing will be built on the site of the last remaining part of the National Gallery’s current campus: St Vincent House. The property was acquired nearly 30 years ago, for the purpose of expanding gallery space, and currently houses a hotel and office complex.

Project Domani will also revitalize the area between Leicester Square and Trafalgar Square, creating a vibrant, fresh experience for visitors. The new wing will benefit from the dramatic advances made in building techniques and sustainability during recent decades. It will be a landmark of both local and international significance, enriching the nation’s artistic presence on a global scale.

Sir Gabriele Finaldi, Director, The National Gallery said “With the Bicentenary celebrations now completed, the NG looks to the future. We want to be the place where the UK public and visitors from across the globe can enjoy the finest painting collection in the world from medieval times to our own, in a superb architectural setting. We are hugely excited by these developments and are immensely grateful to our donors for their support - on an unprecedented scale - as the National Gallery steps into its third century. We look forward to an ever-closer collaboration with Tate on this significant new initiative."

Collection Development

The National Gallery holds the world's finest collection of paintings in the European tradition, starting in the early 13th century. Having just celebrated our 200th anniversary we now want to continue to develop and extend our collection.

The story of painting is a continuum – it reflects how artists and the societies in which they lived have responded to myth and religion, history and contemporary events, landscape and the human form, and to the tradition of art itself – and that is why it is necessary for the National Gallery to continue to evolve and extend the story it tells.

For the benefit of audiences everywhere, the National Gallery will be the one place in the world that presents the history of Western painting in a comprehensive and dynamic way, where the beauty and drama of extraordinary paintings is presented against the timeless and enduring backdrop of great architecture.

To achieve this, we are seeking to broaden and extend the range of our collection, displays and exhibitions. This development offers an exciting opportunity to collaborate with our colleagues at Tate as joint custodians of the National Collection. The Trustees of the National Gallery and Tate recently held a joint meeting to develop new ways of working together more closely.

While both institutions will continue to tell their stories in distinct and complementary ways, a new, historic partnership is underway that sees the National Gallery and Tate working together to build and further develop the UK’s world-leading National Collection for the benefit of everyone.

Maria Balshaw, Director, Tate said: “Tate congratulates the National Gallery on the announcement of this transformational gift. As the UK’s national collection of British art from 1500 and international art from 1900, Tate looks forward to working closely with colleagues at the National Gallery on loans, curatorial and conservational expertise to support the development of their new displays. The Trustees of both institutions recently held a joint meeting and, together, established a Working Group with Trustee and Curatorial representatives from each to determine the ways in which we can collaborate to further the national collection as a whole.”