Multi-million pound selection of sketches by modern masters left to a historic London gallery
A multi-million pound selection of sketches by modern masters including Cezanne and Kandinsky will go on show in London after being left to a historic gallery.
The 25 drawings are from the collection of film industry executive and art enthusiast Howard Karshan, who died three years ago, and his artist wife Linda who presented them to the Courtauld Gallery.
The works, which also include drawings by Cy Twombly, Otto Dix and Philip Guston, are valued at £5 million and will help bring the Courtauld’s 7,000 strong collection of drawings firmly into the 20th century.
Linda Karshan said: “Howard was as passionate about studying his drawings as he was about collecting them. He carefully positioned them on the walls around him, so as to be able to have his favourites within sight.
“These are the drawings that make up the Karshan Gift. At the Courtauld, they will find their natural home, where they can be in the public eye while being studied for generations to come, echoing the role these drawings played within our family for over 50 years.”
The works will go on show at the gallery in the Strand when it reopens this year after a major building project to transform the building which houses the collection of the Courtauld Institute – the art history college whose alumni include the directors of many of the world’s greatest museums.
Professor Deborah Swallow, the Marit Rausing Director of the Courtauld, said the Karshan’s had been “close friends” of the institute for years.
She said they were “deeply honoured” to provide a home for part of the “remarkable collection” of work they had built up over decades of collecting.
She said: “Gifts and bequests from major collectors have always been fundamental to the growth of our collections and these works from the Howard Karshan Collection will truly transform our holdings. Howard and Linda, herself a distinguished artist, always cherished the particular role The Courtauld undertakes as a public gallery and as a centre of education.
“We are hugely excited at the prospect of making these drawings a vital part of our collection and activities to inspire future visitors, scholars and students alike.”
