Dimitris Daskalopoulos to donate 350 works from his collection to four museums
Collector Dimitris Daskalopoulos, who owns one of the most important private collections of contemporary art in the world, has announced that he will donate a large part of his collection to four museums.
Source: Tate Gallery and others · Image: Mona Hatoum, "Current Disturbance," 1996. © Mona Hatoum, courtesy of White Cube, London and Alexander and Bonin, New York. Photo: Geoff Craddick/PA/Whitechapel Gallery
With more than half a thousand works by artists such as Marcel Duchamp, Louise Bourgeois and Damien Hirst, the art collection of Dimitris Daskalopoulos (Athens, 1957) is large and important enough to form a museum of contemporary art in its own right. Instead, Daskalopoulos has decided that he will donate 350 works from his collection to four museums in Europe and the United States. Specifically, the National Museum of Contemporary Art in Athens (EMST) will receive 140 works, the Tate in London will receive 110 works, and another 100 works will be divided between the Guggenheim in New York and the Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA) in Chicago.
"My interest in art has not been limited to the framework of building a collection," Daskalopoulos explained in statements collected by the Tate Gallery. "Its main characteristic has been the constant pursuit of being in touch with the beauty of art and the joy and inspiration that this contact brings."
The four museums that will receive works have expressed their gratitude to the collector. Katerina Gregos, Artistic Director of the National Museum of Contemporary Art of Greece (EMST) stated that this is "the most significant gift in the twenty-year history of EMST in terms of both size and importance." Maria Balshaw, Director of Tate, opined that "this donation is an extraordinary act of generosity by Dimitris Daskalopoulos and it marks a significant moment for Tate’s collection. This is not only because of the large number of works involved, but also because of the exceptional calibre of the artists, from Louise Bourgeois to David Hammons to Mona Hatoum."
From the United States, Richard Armstrong, director of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, stated that "Daskalopoulos has demonstrated a belief in the power of art to expand the collective imagination and address issues fundamental to contemporary life." Madeleine Grynsztejn, director of the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, explained that "Dimitris Daskalopoulos shares the MCA’s dedication to harnessing the art of our time as a catalyst for critical thinking, social change, and reflection, marked by an unwavering belief that art expands our collective imagination (...) This gift will have a galvanizing effect on the narrative of contemporary art for our present and future audiences and will inspire the current and next generation of creative workers in our rapidly evolving industry."

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