D'OFFAY NICE OF YOU

by Katie Smyth

SquareOne Entertainment

The donation of a major new international collection of art valued at £125 million was announced last month at Edinburgh's Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art.

'Artist Rooms' is being created through a donation made by collector Anthony d'Offay and his wife Anne who amassed the collection of 725 pieces over a period of 28 years.

Secretary of state for culture, media and sport Andy Burnham said: “We would need to look back to the late 19th century or the early 20th century with the likes of Sir Henry Tate to see a similar sized gesture.”

The concept behind the exhibition is a series of 50 individual touring rooms devoted to 25 artists and will include works by Joseph Beuys, Damien Hirst and Andy Warhol. An additional seven artists will be represented in exhibitions throughout the country.

The collection is to be owned and managed jointly by Tate and National Galleries of Scotland and will tour throughout Britain to a wide range of partner galleries.

Further information can be found at www.nationalgalleries.org.