Letter Critiques National Gallery's Design Choices
Letter Critiques National Gallery's Design Choices
Letter Critiques National Gallery's Design Choices
News summary

During recent renovations at London's National Gallery, demolition workers discovered a hidden letter from 1990 inside a column of the Sainsbury Wing, written by the late John Sainsbury. The letter criticized the false columns, which served no structural purpose, and expressed delight that future generations chose to remove them. Sainsbury, a major donor to the gallery, had inserted the note during construction, reflecting his disagreement with the architects Robert Venturi and Denise Scott Brown. His widow, Anya Linden, expressed satisfaction at the rediscovery of the letter, aligning with Sainsbury's views on the gallery's redesign. However, some, including architect Denise Scott Brown and former gallery director Neil MacGregor, opposed the removal of the columns. The letter has now been archived as a historical document.

Story Coverage
Builders find note from past hidden in column of National Gallery
alt
NPR
Center
Donor's note trashing design of pillars he funded at London's National Gallery is found
alt
BBC News
Center
National Gallery column-hating letter by donor 'a compromise'
Builders demolishing column at National Gallery uncover donor letter
Bias Distribution
40% Right
Information Sources
bd68667e-abfe-4783-a143-3b1ae84b8232ee2e2e88-f60f-46ba-af3a-dd7892b6c73c6a8412fc-1096-4c2b-a630-24144fb8fdd2605a98c4-d25e-430b-86c1-9232b14faa6b
+1
Left 20%
Center 40%
Right 40%
Coverage Details
Total News Sources
5
Left
1
Center
2
Right
2
Unrated
0
Last Updated
20 days ago
Bias Distribution
40% Right
Related News
AI Assistant
Story Coverage
Builders find note from past hidden in column of National Gallery
alt
NPR
Center
Donor's note trashing design of pillars he funded at London's National Gallery is found
alt
BBC News
Center
National Gallery column-hating letter by donor 'a compromise'
Builders demolishing column at National Gallery uncover donor letter

Related Topics

Subscribe

Stay in the Know, Subscribe to Our News

Get the latest news, exclusive insights, and curated content delivered straight to your inbox.

Related News
Recommended News