illustration by Secchi Smith
London’s Courtauld Gallery, home to a storied collection including works by artists like Manet and van Gogh, will open two new galleries devoted to contemporary art at the museum’s recently refurbished campus at Somerset House. The galleries will be built with a Blavatnik Family Foundation gift of £10 million ($13.8 million). This brings recent support by the foundation to a total of £20 million ($27.5 million). The top-floor galleries, designed in the 18th century as a display space for the Royal Society, are expected to open in 2029.
“Sir Leonard and Lady Emily Blavatnik have been foundational supporters of the Courtauld for many years, and we are thrilled that they share our excitement about our expanded engagement with contemporary art,” Courtauld director Mark Hallett said in a statement. The foundation has long supported the institution, which named the Blavatnik Fine rooms after the family in 2021.
Related Articles
Collectors Leonard Blavatnik, James Dyson, and Idan Ofer Among the Richest People in the UK: Report
Over 100 Firefighters Tackled a Blaze on Somerset House’s Roof in London
The Courtauld reopened in 2021 after closing for a $28.4 million overhaul that took three years, supported by the Blavatniks along with money from the National Lottery Heritage Fund. Artnet Newscalled it “the most hotly anticipated opening in London in decades.”
“My family and I have taken great pride in our association with the Courtauld over the past decade,” said Leonard Blavatnik. “It has been a privilege to play a leading role in shaping the Gallery’s future.” In May 2025, the Sunday Times list of Britain’s richest placed Ukrainian-born Blavatnik at number three, with a fortune of £25.73 billion ($35.46 billion). According to theNew York Times, he “made his money in the rough and tumble of Russia’s commodities privatizations during the 1990s and now owns, among other properties, Warner Music Group.”
benedict johnson
Blavatnik has spread his wealth around extensively through his self-funded foundation, which also supports institutions including Tate Modern and London’s National Portrait Gallery. In the US, he has funded Harvard Medical School and other institutions.
The Courtauld’s collection spans the Middle Ages to the present and includes examples by Sandro Botticelli, Paul Cézanne, Oskar Kokoschka, Édouard Manet, Claude Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Peter Paul Rubens, and Vincent van Gogh. Three paintings familiar around the world hang in a single gallery: Manet’s A Bar at the Folies-Bergère (1882), Cézanne’s The Card Players (1839–1906), and van Gogh’s Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear (1889).
“The new galleries will be a site of possibilities for artists to present exceptional artworks,” said Elena Crippa, senior curator of contemporary art exhibitions and projects. “These new spaces will help us connect past and present art and ideas, engage students and bring living artists to the core of our activities.”
Recently, the Courtauld has mounted exhibitions of contemporary artists like Peter Doig and Claudette Johnson, and commissioned a large piece by Cecily Brown. This has followed a 2021 overhaul of the galleries by architects Witherford Watson Mann. The Courtauld will open the first European solo of the acclaimed artist Salman Toor in October. Students at the Courtauld’s master’s program in curating will play a significant role in programming the new galleries.
The Blavatnik gift comes on the heels of the largest donation in the museum’s 93-year history. In October, the institution received a £30 million ($40 million) donation from the Reuben Foundation, which was set up by billionaire brothers and real estate moguls David and Simon Reuben.
