The Art Fund
Organisation:
The Art Fund is an independent membership charity committed to saving art for everyone to enjoy. It was formed in 1903 as The National Arts Collections Fund. The Art Fund has over 80,000 members and gives grants of around £4 million a year.
Eligibility
Archives should subscribe to The National Archives Standard for Record Repositories and have a dedicated exhibition space which is open to the public. [Any UK public collection accredited with the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA) may apply to The Art Fund for a grant.]
You can apply as often as required. Please contact the Grants Office if you are in any doubt about the eligibility of your institution, or the object you wish to acquire.
The Art Fund are unlikely to fund the acquisition of an entire archive collection, but may be interested in supporting the cost of purchasing items of artistic or aesthetic merit within that collection.
Timetable
Trustees have 8 meetings a year to consider applications above £5,000. Contact the Grants Office for application deadlines.
Applications for grants of £5,000 or less, or works coming up at auction, can be submitted at any time. Please contact the Grants Office to discuss submitting your application.
Criteria
Applications are made online via The Art Fund website
Applicants must provide:
- a description of the object
- information regarding condition and provenance
- an image of the work
- an independent valuation
- an explanation of the work's significance to your collection
- a description of other funding you are seeking, and the amount you would like from The Art Fund
The Art Fund normally funds part of the cost of an acquisition, with the remaining funds coming from your own or other resources. They will also welcome applications where no other money is available, so long as you have thoroughly explored the possibility of applying to all appropriate sources of public funding for which you may be eligible. If you decide not to approach the relevant public funding bodies, are given advice from them that your application is unlikely to qualify, or your application is formally rejected, you must explain the reasons for this.
Types of Project Funded
The British Library – The Raffles Family Collection. Papers, letters and drawings relating to Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles (1781-1826). The Art Fund contributed £114,814 towards the costs of the drawings.
Royal Institute of British Architects, Library, Drawings and Archives Collections – Codex Rootstein-Hopkins. Bound volume of architectural drawings by Giovanni Battista da Sangallo (1496-1548). Total Cost £274,417 with a grant from The Art Fund of £100,000
The British Library – My Ladye Nevells Booke, 1591. One of the finest Tudor music manuscripts in existence. Total Cost £404,069 with a grant from The Art Fund of £24,000.
Contact Details
Millais House, 7 Cromwell Place, London, SW7 2JN
Tel: 020 7225 4800
Fax: 020 7225 4848
info@artfund.orgE-mail: Francesca Geens, Head of Grants, fgeens@artfund.org
Tel: 020 7225 4815
