The Royal Academy of Arts has received a major gift of £2.5m from Julia and Hans Rausing towards The Vaults, the new public route linking Burlington House to Burlington Gardens. This generous donation is the closing gift for the RA’s recent redevelopment. The Vaults will be named The Julia and Hans Rausing Hall.
In May 2018, the Royal Academy launched a new campus as part of the celebrations of its 250th anniversary year. Designed by the internationally-acclaimed architect Sir David Chipperfield RA, this transformative redevelopment has provided 70% more public space than the RA’s original Burlington House footprint, enabling the RA to expand its exhibition and events programme, and to create new and free displays of art and architecture across the campus for visitors year-round.
The Julia and Hans Rausing Hall was originally designed and built by architect Sydney Smirke RA when the Royal Academy moved to Burlington House in 1868. As well as linking the RA’s two buildings, the area opens up a new public route through the Royal Academy Schools, revealing the RA’s important role in arts education and its long tradition of training artists.
Plaster casts from the early years of the RA Schools are displayed in The Julia and Hans Rausing Hall together with works on paper from the RA’s teaching collection. The current free display The Making of an Artist: Learning to Draw, presents anatomical casts and casts of antique sculptures, including the Farnese Hercules, juxtaposed with recent works on related themes by RA Schools graduates. Works on paper from the RA’s Collection, illustrating the ways in which drawing was taught at the Academy for over 200 years from 1769, are also on display.
The Rausings, who are passionate supporters of art and architecture, will become members of the Presidents’ Circle, made up of the most generous supporters of the Royal Academy.
Julia and Hans Rausing said: “The renovation of The Vaults marks the final stages of the redevelopment of the Royal Academy of Arts, and we are pleased to be supporting the Academy in such an important part of its history. The donation will help not only with the upkeep of The Vaults, which reflect the 250-year legacy of the Academy but will also contribute towards the expansion of the building and improved access for visitors between key exhibition spaces.”
Christopher Le Brun, President of the Royal Academy of Arts said:
“I am delighted and grateful that Julia and Hans Rausing are bringing their enthusiasm, support and imagination to such a key part of our highly acclaimed and successful project.”
The Julia and Hans Rausing Trust
The Julia and Hans Rausing Trust is a charitable fund that supports organisations and charities
across the globe. Since its formation, the Trust has provided over 220 grants totalling more than
£185 million. The Trust supports a number of initiatives with the primary donations areas being the
Arts, Children, Culture, Health, Mental Health and Science.
juliahansrausingtrust.org
Transforming the Royal Academy of Arts
The redevelopment has been funded with a £12.7 million grant from the National Lottery. Major
support has also been received from a number of private individuals, including Mrs Gabrielle
Jungels-Winkler, Ronald and Rita McAulay, The McLennan Family, The Mead Family Foundation,
Mr and Mrs Robert Miller and Sir Simon and Lady Robertson, as well as trusts and foundations
including the Blavatnik Family Foundation, The Cadogan Charity, Clore Duffield Foundation, The
Dorfman Foundation, Dunard Fund, The Foyle Foundation, The Garfield Weston Foundation, The
Maurice Wohl Charitable Foundation, The Monument Trust, The Rothschild Foundation and The
Wolfson Foundation.royalacademy.org.uk/ra250
