Do you adore the paintings of Renaissance artists Raphael, Michelangelo and Polidoro da Caravaggio?
Your viewing of the works of these and other masters at London's National Gallery will be greatly enhanced through a generous $3.2 million donation by philanthropist and hedge fund manager Michael Hintze.
The donation is earmarked for refurbishment of gallery spaces in the museum's original Wilkins Building, including display areas. The rehab also will include upgrading the dated environmental systems to create optimal conditions for the paintings and to increase energy efficiency, according to a news release from The National Gallery.
“It is very satisfying for me to have the ability to back the vision of Nicholas Perry, the gallery's director. This effort really is about backing people,” said Mr. Hintze, founder, CEO and senior investment officer of CQS (UK) LLP, which manages $10 billion in credit hedge funds.
Mr. Hintze said his own home is not filled with priceless artwork. “Supporting great museums is really my way of collecting,” he joked in an interview from the firm's London headquarters.
The National Gallery gift was made through the Hintze Family Charitable Foundation, London, which has supported more 150 charities since its inception in 2004. The size of the foundation could not be learned.
