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The Guardian - UK

Lifestyle

Sammy Gecsoyler

Builders renovating National Gallery find funder’s letter commending demolition

Robert Venturi The National Gallery

John Sainsbury in 2019. — John Sainsbury died in 2022, age 94. His widow, Anya Linden, was on site when the letter was removed from the pillar. Photograph: Karwai Tang/WireImage

Builders knocking down a column at the National Gallery were surprised to find a long-lost note amid the rubble thanking them for demolishing the “unnecessary” pillar.

While removing a column in the gallery’s Sainsbury Wing, demolition workers discovered a letter dating back to 1990 from its funder, John Sainsbury, the former chair of the eponymous supermarket chain, that said he was “absolutely delighted” the pillar was being removed.

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