The National Gallery opened in 1838 on a site at Trafalgar Square, which at the time was considered to be the very centre of London. A site next to the gallery became vacant due to bombing during Second World War. It was here that the Northern Extension was built, which opened in 1975, followed by The Sainsbury Wing, which opened in 1991. In 2018, The Sainsbury Wing gained Grade 1 Listed status on the National Heritage List for England.
The new wing was funded by Lord Sainsbury of Preston Candover and his two brothers. Their great-grandfather established the London grocery shop which has become one of the UK’s largest supermarket chains.
King Charles famously described the original design in 1984 as a ‘monstrous carbuncle on the face of a much-loved and elegant friend’ during a speech to the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA).
The design that was eventually accepted was by the American post-modernist architect, Robert Venturi and his partner, Denise Scott Brown, who added two large columns to the gallery’s foyer. However, the columns served no structural purpose.
Anticipating their eventual demolition, Lord Sainsbury decided to write down his opinion of the columns, which he inserted within the concrete structure during the build.
Protected in a plastic folder, the letter lay concealed for 34 years until, in 2023, it was discovered during the building’s reconfiguration. It was addressed “to those who find this note” and was found by the workers demolishing the columns. In capital letters typed on company headed paper it read:
“IF YOU HAVE FOUND THIS NOTE YOU MUST BE ENGAGED IN DEMOLISHING ONE OF THE FALSE COLUMNS THAT HAVE BEEN PLACED IN THE FOYER OF THE SAINSBURY WING OF THE NATIONAL GALLERY. I BELIEVE THAT THE FALSE COLUMNS ARE A MISTAKE OF THE ARCHITECT AND THAT WE WOULD LIVE TO REGRET OUR ACCEPTING THIS DETAIL OF HIS DESIGN.
“LET IT BE KNOWN THAT ONE OF THE DONORS OF THIS BUILDING IS ABSOLUTELY DELIGHTED THAT YOUR GENERATION HAS DECIDED TO DISPENSE WITH THE UNNECESSARY COLUMNS.”
Lord Sainsbury probably believed that his opinion would not become known until after his demise, and indeed he died in 2022 at the age of 94. However, his widow, Anya, witnessed the note being removed and expressed her happiness at the discovery of the letter.
She said: “I feel he would be relieved and delighted for the gallery’s new plans and the extra space they are creating.”
Lord Sainsbury believed that the columns would confuse visitors as they hid the lifts, the entrance to the lecture theatre and temporary exhibition galleries. However, the architect wanted the space to feel like a crypt, an area that led to the galleries and was the beginning of a journey, rather than its destination.
The new scheme, designed by Annabelle Selldorf meant the demolition of the false columns, although three structural columns have been retained. Venturi had died, and the decision to redesign the wing was strongly opposed by his widow, Scott Brown, and condemned as “insensitive” by the RIBA. Despite the building’s Grade I listed status (the highest grade) and objections from English Heritage, Historic Buildings and Places, the Twentieth Century Society and architecture critics – the scheme was approved by Westminster City Council.