Help save Nelsons Ship in a Bottle

Nelson's Ship in a Bottle by Yinka Shonibare, MBE has been on temporary display in London's Trafalgar Square since May 2010. In January it will be removed from public view. We want to help the National Maritime Museum to buy it and keep it on permanent display for everyone to enjoy. 

2.7 million needed to save the Nostell Brueghel

We successfully worked with the National Trust to raise £2.7 million to save Pieter Brueghel the Younger's The Procession to Calvary for Nostell Priory in Yorkshire. www.artfund.org/procession  

Frome Hoard Saved for Somerset

The Frome Hoard has been acquired by the Museum of Somerset thanks to an Art Fund led campaign.  

Queen and Country: A Project by Steve McQueen

26 July 2010 The Art Fund led the campaign in support of Turner Prize winning artist Steve McQueen’s project, Queen and Country, for a set of official postage stamps to be issued by Royal Mail.  

Staffordshire Hoard saved for the nation

18 February 2010 The Art Fund is delighted to announce that the Staffordshire Hoard has been saved for the nation. 

Acts of Mercy

The Art Fund welcomes the news that Cayley Robinson's murals will stay on public display after the Wellcome Trust buys them from UCLH.  

Rubens's sketch saved for Tate

October 2008Tate launched a fundraising campaign in March 2008 working in close partnership with The Art Fund to raise public funds for this magnificent work. 

Wandsworth Museum Saved

April 2007 The Art Fund is delighted to learn that Wandsworth Museum has received a last minute reprieve thanks to a generous donation from a local philanthropist.  

Turner's Blue Rigi saved for the nation

1 March 2007
We're delighted to announce that, thanks to the extraordinary response from the public to our appeal, the National Heritage Memorial Fund (the government's fund of last resort) has agreed to underwrite the remaining money needed to a maximum of £1.95m, so Turner's Blue Rigi is guaranteed to be saved for Tate.  

The 'Living And Giving' Campaign

December 2006The Art Fund has long campaigned for improved tax incentives to encourage cultural donations and individual giving to museums. Its 2005 ‘Living and Giving’ campaign, which won widespread support, succeeded in pushing the issue firmly onto the government’s agenda. 

Shrewsbury Museum and Art Gallery

January 2007In 2006 Shrewsbury Borough Council announced plans to close Shrewsbury Museum and Art Gallery (Rowley’s House) for a period of four years. 

VAT Free! The Campaign for Free Admission - celebrating five years

1 December 2006The decision, announced in the 2001 Budget, that national museums and galleries would be able to offer free admission without losing their ability to reclaim VAT was the culmination of a hard-fought Art Fund campaign. Museums and galleries which previously charged have seen a 75% increase in visitor numbers since they opened their doors for free in 2001. 

Key Campaign Achievements 1995-2005

January 2006In these ten years alone The Art Fund campaigned on a range of issues affecting the cultural life of the nation - from persuading the Treasury not to sell off its collection of silver, to leading the campaign for free entry to national museums. 

The Art Fund's Centenary Conference

April 2006In 2003 The Art Fund held a ground-breaking conference as part of its centenary celebrations. The conference - ‘Saving Art for the Nation: A Valid Approach to 21st-Century Collecting?’- brought together a range of speakers and panellists to discuss fundamental questions concerning national heritage, national identity and culture, and the future of museum collecting worldwide. 

Art Fund Calls for Bolder Approach to Museum Collecting

April 2006In 2004 The Art Fund expressed serious concern about the patterns of public collecting in the UK. It called for a change from the cautious and reactive approach to museum and gallery collecting, and announced that it will, in exceptional cases, offer ‘seed’ money towards works of national or international importance. 

Campaign to Restore Rodin's Burghers of Calais

April 2006The cherished Rodin sculpture in Victoria Tower Gardens was in desperate need of repair by 1999, when The Art Fund led the campaign to undo years of inadequate maintenance as well as vandalism. The sensitive restoring of the work, in line with Rodin’s original methods, was a triumphant success and has provided a conservation model for the Royal Parks Agency. 

Macclesfield Psalter Saved for the Nation

April 2006The triumphant acquisition of the Macclesfield Psalter was the culmination of an intensive campaign and public appeal launched by The Art Fund. This remarkable medieval manuscript was saved for the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge in early 2005. 

The campaigns to save 'Christina of Denmark, Duchess of Milan' and 'The Rokeby Venus'

November 2006Two of the greatest works in UK public collections today, Holbein’s Christina of Denmark Duchess of Milan, and Velázquez’s ‘The Rokeby Venus’