The Courtauld Institute of Art in London has received a $12 million donation from the Manton Foundation to create the Manton Center for British Art. The center will “help secure the Courtauld’s ambition of becoming a world leader in the field of British art,” the gallery said in a statement.
“The Manton Center for British Art will serve as an intellectual hub for art historians, curators, critics, artists, and students nationally and internationally, providing a platform for sharing world-leading research and for teaching the next generation of British art specialists,” the Courtauld said.
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Initially due to be located at the gallery’s current campus in Vernon Square in central London, the center will later be moved a couple of miles south next to the Thames in purpose-designed premises at Somerset House.
The Manton Foundation was founded in 1991 by British American couple Sir Edwin and Lady Gretchen Manton “as a vehicle for their charitable giving,” according to the foundation. “Today, the foundation is managed by the Mantons’ descendants and functions as a family endeavor. Funded projects fall largely into a range of fields encompassing education, arts and culture, medial research, and community preservation.”
“After a visit to the Courtauld and several discussions with its leadership and faculty, we came away impressed by the dedicated academic training offered to students interested in British art, including the period of most interest to our grandparents [Edwin and Gretchen],” Julia Krapf and Sandy Niles, trustees of the Manton Foundation, said in the statement. “We are excited and motivated by the opportunity to help the Courtauld strengthen and formalize its research capacity in that area.”
Matt Hallett, the Märit Rausing director of the Courtauld, hailed the donation as a “thrilling moment” for the gallery. “Our new Manton Center will place British art in a global context, and aim to deliver truly world-class teaching and research in this rich, endlessly fascinating field of study,” he said. “The center will support students through a generously endowed programme of scholarships, and offer a dynamic programme of activities and events across the year. We are hugely grateful to the Manton Foundation for their generous gift, which will enable us to support the very best new thinking and teaching on British art for generations to come.”
The Manton Collection of British Art comprises over 300 works by the likes of Thomas Gainsborough, Joseph Mallord William Turner, and John Constable. Edwin and Gretchen Manton started the collection in the 1940s.
“The Courtauld’s specialists in British art will become members of the center and help shape its activities and development,” the gallery added. “The center will operate as the base for students taking modules in British art as part of their MA degree and also provide a home for the Courtauld’s PhD students researching British art.”