British dealer turns over huge art collection to museums

A British art dealer who is considered one of the world's leading collectors of contemporary art has donated 725 works in his collection to a group of British museums.

Anthony d'Offay's contribution is being described as "extraordinary" and one of the largest gifts ever made to British museums.

A leading art dealer for more than 40 years, d'Offay has agreed to sell the paintings for $55 million Cdn, about what he paid for them.

Amid today'shigh art prices, the works by artists such as Andy Warhol, Damien Hirst, Ron Mueck,Joseph Beuys, Anselm Kiefer and Gilbert and George would be valued at around$245 million.

The British and Scottish government and British heritage and art funds each contributed to cover the cost of the works.About$2.9 million has been allocated for administering the acquisitions.

The Tate Gallery and the National Galleries of Scotland will manage the collection, which will travel British museums as a series of artist rooms.

D'Offay traditionally has arranged his holdings in a series of galleries or artist rooms, each housing works by a single artist.

After announcing the donation in Edinburgh Wednesday, d'Offay said he'd been planning the idea for seven years.

"It's really to do with education for young people. Outside London and Edinburgh it is very difficult to see great contemporary art," he told the Guardian.

"Art is important because it stimulates young people's creativity. If you see great art it makes you ask questions and if you ask questions it makes you seek answers. It's always been in my mind that this is something I wanted to do."

D'Offay, who was born in Sheffield, said his first exposure to great art was as a student in Edinburgh when he used to visit the National Gallery of Scotland.

He opened his first gallery in 1969 in London and formed relationships with many strugglingcontemporary artists, eventually representing some of world's top artists. Now 68, he is retired from the gallery business.

Museum representatives compared his philanthropy to that of Henry Tate, whose donation at the end of the 19th century led to the founding ofthe Tate Galleries in Britain.

"A gift of this magnitude will completely transform the opportunity to experience contemporary art in the U.K.," Tate director Nicholas Serota said in a press release.

"Anthony d'Offay's imaginative generosity establishes a new dynamic for national collections and is without precedent anywhere in the world."

Serota pointed out that these works fill significant holes in the collections of public institutions.

Included in the bequest are 69 black-and-white photographs by the pioneering U.S. photographer Diane Arbus, 17 works by Jeff Koons, 64 photographs by Mapplethorpe and 136 works by Beuys.