Charity donates £450,000 to Glasgow School of Art appeal
A charity has donated £450,000 to the appeal to help restore the fire-damaged Glasgow School of Art.
A charity has donated £450,000 to the appeal to help restore the fire-damaged Glasgow School of Art.
The Wolfson Foundation's donation to the Mackintosh Campus Appeal brings the total raised to £18.5 million.
The appeal aims to raise £32 million to restore the Grade-A listed Mackintosh building which was badly damaged by fire on May 23 2014.
The money will also go towards expanding the art school's Garnethill Campus into the former Stow College building.
Founded by Glasgow-born businessman and philanthropist Sir Isaac Wolfson who owned the mail order business Great Universal Stores, the foundation supports and promotes excellence in the fields of science, health, education and the arts and humanities.
Paul Ramsbottom, Wolfson Foundation chief executive, said: "The Mackintosh building is internationally renowned as a masterpiece of 20th century architecture at the heart of the Glasgow School of Art.
"We were impressed not only by the bravery, ambition and energy with which the school has responded to the traumatic events of May 2014, but also by the sensitivity with which this restoration has been conceived - not in isolation, but as part of a wider strategic vision for the school's future.
"We are delighted to be supporting this important regeneration project, and helping to revitalise an outstanding building in the city of our founder's birth."
Glasgow School of Art director Professor Tom Inns said: "We are hugely grateful to the Wolfson Foundation for this generous donation.
"The donation brings to £18.5 million the monies raised towards our £32 million Mackintosh Campus Appeal which will enable us to deliver our ambitious development plans for the Garnethill campus."
Contractors hope to have completed the restoration by the end of February 2019.