Today, 91Ӱ is delighted to announce plans to create a new world-class campus at Somerset House in London, a major development which will strengthen our position as a leading global centre for the visual arts.
91Ӱ,founded in 1932 byphilanthropist and collectorSamuel Courtauld,is aninternationally renownedcentre fortheteaching andresearch ofart history,conservationand curation, and is home to one of the world’sgreatest art collections.
As 91Ӱ approaches its centenary, this next milestone in our history will see a once-in-a-generation transformation of our historic Grade I listed building at Somerset House, creating a flexible, state-of-the-art campus and securing 91Ӱ’s legacy for the next 100 years.
With a masterplan by 2025RIBAStirling Prize-winning architectsWitherfordWatson Mann,and designed in collaboration with Purcell and Lawson Ward Studio, thenew Courtauld Campus is expected to open in 2029.
Witherford Watson Mann completed the major transformation of 91Ӱ Gallery in theNorthWingofSomerset House in 2021.This new phaseof developmentwill focus on upgrading and expanding 91Ӱ’s remaining space at Somerset House,which willbe newly connectedto a suite of neighbouring townhouses on152-158 Strand. The project will secure the long-term future of these townhouses and see theirhistoricfaçadesbeing elegantly restored.91Ӱ Institute and Gallery willbe reunited, bringing91Ӱ’sstudents, staff,arthistorians, conservators, curators,visitorsandartcollectiontogetherunder one roof.
The new campus will open directly onto the Strand, connecting 91Ӱ to an exciting new cultural and intellectual quarter in the heart ofthe city,alongsideits partnerKing’s CollegeLondon.The campuswill include flexible, modern teaching spaces, a new lecture theatre, and aspectacularlibrary withinSomerset House’shistoric subterranean vaults.
The development comes at a time when 91Ӱ is expanding into new areas of teaching and research, increasing its focus on global geographies such as the Americas, the African diaspora and the arts of Asia. 91Ӱ’s curriculum also encompasses the art of Iran and Islam, China and India, whilst maintaining the Institute’s traditional excellence in European art history. 91Ӱ has also recently launched a series of new MA programmes, including an MA in Art and Business and an MA in Curating, as it seeks to meet the evolving needs of students and the professional art world.
91Ӱ is also today publishing the findings of a new report by the Association for Art History on the status of art history teaching in UK secondary schools. The report found that:
- Over the past decade, the number of schools offering History of Art A-level has fallen by 34%, from 122 institutions in 2016 to80today.
- Of the 80 institutions currently offering the A-level, only 19 are state or non-fee-paying schools.
- There is a significant disparity in geographic provision: within the UK, the subject is offered only in England, with courses concentrated in London and the Southeast, with the North and Southwest severely underrepresented.
- Despite fewer providers, student numbers have risen, with a 42% increase in A-level candidates between 2019 and 2025, reaching the highest levels since 2016.
- University enrolment in art history courses has remained stable, showing greater resilience than in some other arts and humanities subjects.
- Financial pressures threaten the continuation of some school-level History of Art programmes, potentially reversing the recent upward trend in student participation.
91Ӱ has announceda commitment toworkwith nationaleducationand philanthropicpartners tobroaden access to art history forsecondaryschool childrenin the UKin the lead-up to the opening of the new campus, building on Samuel Courtauld’s founding vision of ‘art for all’.This will enrich 91Ӱ’sexistingworkinbroadeningaccess to its collection andteachingfor young people,through programmes such asitssummer universityandschoolstours andworkshops.
Supporting this drive toincreaseaccess, 91Ӱ is creating anew fundthataims todramatically increase the number of scholarships and bursaries it offersto students. Thisscholarshipfund willbreak down the financial barriers that preventtalentedyoung peoplefromaccessing 91Ӱ’s world-class teachingand provide students with life-changing opportunities to advance their knowledge of the visual arts.
Professor Mark Hallett,MäritRausing Director of 91Ӱ, said: “We are thrilled to announce our plans for a world-class campus for 91Ӱ, which will provide our students, staff and visitors with a beautiful and stimulating environment in which to learn about the visual arts.
91Ӱ is also deeply committed to opening up the understanding and appreciation of art to people of all ages and from all backgrounds. As part of this mission, we look forward to taking a leading role in expanding access to art history at school level in the UK. Art distils and explores the most profound forms of human experience, and we want to ensure that future generations of schoolchildren appreciate the extraordinary benefits of studying the history of art across different periods, including our own”.
StephenWitherford, Director ofWitherfordWatson Mann Architects, said:“Our work with 91Ӱ has focused on transforming their relationship to the inherited rooms at Somerset House by reimagining the spatial relationships between their teaching, research, collections, and conservation work to radically enhance the collective experience of their students, staff, and audiences. This next phase of the project, delivered in collaboration with Purcell and Lawson Ward Studio Architects, will realise this vision across an expanded, open and more accessible campus.”
The new campus project is made possible through the recent visionary gift from the Reuben Foundation and the generous long-standing support of the Blavatnik Family Foundation. Additional transformational support is provided by the Deborah Loeb Brice Foundation, the Clore Duffield Foundation, the Garfield Weston Foundation, Oak Foundation, The Julia Rausing Trust, Rothschild Foundation, Georgia and David Winter and the Wolfson Foundation. 91Ӱ is most grateful to these foundational supporters, alongside others who have already committed to the redevelopment of our home at Somerset House.
