21/09/2001

The Annenberg Foundation has announced $ 45 million (€ 49 million) in grants in the last week to the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Walter H. Annenberg, the former United States ambassador to Britain, and his wife, Leonore, a former White House chief of protocol, have been longtime supporters of both museums. Mrs. Annenberg has been a trustee of the Philadelphia Museum since 1954, and both the Annenbergs have been trustees of the Met on and off since 1974. The foundation gave the Philadelphia Museum $ 25 million (€ 27.2 million), to be divided three ways: $ 10 million (€ 10.9 million) for acquisitions, $ 10 million for mounting exhibitions and publishing catalogues, and $ 5 million to digitize images and expand their presence on the Internet. The Met has received $ 20 million to acquire European paintings, drawings and prints, along with European sculpture and decorative arts. The grant, one of the largest single gifts for acquisitions in the museum's history, will be made in two stages: $ 10 million for immediate use and $ 10 million to establish an endowment, the income from which will be used for acquisitions. (James Goulder)