2010 marks the 30th anniversary of the National Heritage Memorial Fund (NHMF). This is a Fund of last resort, providing grants to help acquire the UK’s most precious heritage at risk of loss, as a permanent memorial to those who have given their lives in service to the country.

Since its establishment in 1980, the NHMF has awarded grants totalling just under £300 million to help acquire and preserve national treasures, ranging from historic houses and works of art to our natural, industrial and maritime heritage. Among the 1,200-plus items safeguarded are such national icons as The Flying Scotsman locomotive, Henry VIII’s flagship Mary Rose, Turner’s The Blue Rigi and, most recently, the Staffordshire Hoard.

The Fund has been exceptional in its generosity to the National Galleries of Scotland, awarding nearly £16 million to help acquire such outstanding works as Antonio Canova’s The Three Graces, Allan Ramsay’s Portrait of Lord Drummore, ARTIST ROOMS (The Anthony d’Offay Collection of modern and contemporary art) and, just last year, Titian’s Diana and Actaeon.
To mark its 30th birthday and acknowledge its invaluable support, the NHMF’s anniversary logo will appear on the gallery labels of all National Galleries of Scotland objects it has helped to acquire.

Related posts:

1. National Museum Wales Acquires Significant Painting by William Dyce With Art Fund Help
2. Heritage Lottery Fund awards Oxford University’s Museums and Botanic Garden grant under SKILLS FOR THE FUTURE Programme
3. Ashmolean Museum Wins Share of £75,000 Art Fund Collect Funding