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100th BIRTHDAY

National Art Collections Fund (Art Fund), established 1903
w: http://www.artfund.org

How it all began

In 1903 a group of art enthusiasts started the charity, the National Art Collections Fund, to help save works of art that were being lost to collectors abroad. In 1906 the Art Fund bought ?The Rokeby Venus? (The Toilet of Venus) by Velazquez, for the then-enormous sum of £45,000, for the National Gallery.

Pivotal moments

An Art Fund campaign to save Christina of Denmark, by Holbein, in 1909; a final contribution of £40,000 came from an anonymous female donor.

The Leonardo Appeal, 1962 ? a huge public campaign, led by the Art Fund, saved the ?Leonardo cartoon? for the nation.

Free Admission Campaign, 2001 ? a successful Art Fund campaign to introduce free entry to national museums and galleries.

The organisation today

The Art Fund continues to give grants to UK museums and galleries to assist them in the acquisition of works of art for their collections, to lobby on behalf of museums and galleries and to campaign for improved access to art for all.

A big thank you to?

? all of our members, whose invaluable contribution makes it possible to continue saving works of art, and all those who support the Art Fund in its work.

Celebration events being planned

£1m purchase of a work of art, or a group of works, for the nation

Regional exhibitions all over the UK showing key works of art bought with Art Fund assistance over the past 100 years

?Saved! 100 years of the National Art Collections Fund? (Hayward Gallery, 23 October ? 18 January 2004) ? an exhibition of major works of art bought with Art Fund assistance for UK collections.