LONDON.-The National Gallery and Credit Suisse are delighted to announce a major partnership, the first of its kind for the National Gallery. Over the next three years, the partnership will provide a vital funding platform for the Gallery’s exhibition programme.

As part of this unique association, Credit Suisse will sponsor a landmark Sainsbury Wing exhibition each year for the next three years. The first such event will be Radical Light: Italy’s Divisionist Painters 1891–1910 (18 June–7 September 2008). Credit Suisse will also sponsor the Gallery’s late-night opening programme, which is attended by over 170,000 visitors per annum. The National Gallery will also work with Credit Suisse to provide special educational projects for schools and community organisations already supported by the bank.

Dr Nicholas Penny, Director of the National Gallery, said: “We are delighted to announce this unique relationship with Credit Suisse, which will bring tremendous benefits for visitors to the National Gallery. We have successfully worked with Credit Suisse in the past for the Sainsbury Wing exhibition Raphael: From Urbino to Rome and we look forward to building on this success in the years to come.”

Russell Chambers, Chief Executive Officer of Credit Suisse in the United Kingdom and Ireland, said: “Credit Suisse is proud to form this partnership with one of the world’s most renowned artistic institutions. We look forward to working with the National Gallery to help bring its innovative exhibitions and other programmes to as wide an audience as possible. We’re particularly pleased to launch the partnership by sponsoring the Radical Light exhibition, and we look forward to working with the Gallery on some of our educational projects for schools in East London and the Docklands.”

The National Gallery has developed strong links with the corporate sector over the past 16 years through exhibition and education sponsorships and through the Gallery’s corporate membership scheme which was established in 1992. Today the Gallery is supported by some 45 corporate members and sponsors. Furthermore, the Gallery provides special access to some 20,000 business guests each year.

Credit Suisse has a long and distinguished tradition of supporting the arts, working with leading cultural institutions to encourage innovative projects and wider access to theatre, dance, music and the visual arts. Credit Suisse’s recent sponsorship commitments include the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, the Shanghai Museum, the Taipei Fine Arts Museum, the Kunsthaus Zurich, the Salzburg Festival and the Bolshoi Theatre.