LONDON.- The Courtauld Institute of Art announce a major philanthropic gift of £600,000 from the International Music and Art Foundation to create the IMAF Centre for the Study and Conservation of Drawings at The Courtauld Gallery.

Ranging from the early Renaissance to the 20th century, The Courtauld Gallery’s collection of 7,000 drawings and watercolours is one of the very finest of its kind in the United Kingdom. It includes masterpieces by artists ranging from Dürer and Michelangelo to Cézanne and Picasso. Numerous other artists are represented in depth, including such major figures as Rembrandt, Rubens and Turner.

The IMAF Centre for Drawings is funded for a period of five years and aims to transform the long-term future of the collection. The International Music and Art Foundation will support the conservation of the collection, including the remounting of approximately 1,400 works in acid-free mounts. Storage and conservation facilities will also be improved. A new cataloguing system will radically improve and enrich the use of the collection online by scholars and the public.

Exhibitions, catalogues and a series of special displays will present new research and will further promote public enjoyment of the collection. The IMAF Centre for Drawings will also foster advanced collaborative research by hosting visiting curators and organising symposia and research projects. The technical study of drawings will be an area of special focus, and the IMAF Centre for Drawings at The Courtauld will work especially closely with the Morgan Library and Museum in New York.

Ernst Vegelin, Head of The Courtauld Gallery, commented: ‘We are very grateful to the International Music and Art Foundation for this exceptionally generous and far-sighted gift. It will help to ensure that the stewardship of this great collection continues to develop in order to meet the needs of the public and new generations of scholars and students.’