Hannah lights up the Thames with her £35m artistic quest
The Rothschilds have established themselves as philanthropists for successive generations. Now I can reveal that hannah Rothschild, novelist daughter of financier Jacob, is carrying on the family tradition and has been working behind the scenes on a major new art project to light up London.
her endeavours will come to fruition next week when a switch is flicked and the bridges across the Thames, from London to Lambeth, will be bathed in light, forming the world’s longest artwork.
The £35 million project, which hannah (pictured) has been working on since 2015, was supported by Lisbet Rausing and Peter Baldwin, Sir Leonard Blavatnik and Simon and Joyce Reuben.
The idea was inspired by a walk along the Thames after the opening ceremony of the London 2012 Olympics.
‘Who could forget the handsome David Beckham whooshing the Olympic torch up the Thames in a speedboat?’ says hannah, 58.
‘Six months later, I took a melancholic walk along the same stretch of river: the same stretch of water, once a ribbon of hope and light had reverted to a snake of darkness curling through our midst. I walked on noticing, perhaps for the first time, the bridges which run from Tower through to Albert, 15 in total.’
In early 2015, she went to City hall to pitch her idea to illuminate London’s bridges.
‘The audacity to dream is one thing: the challenge of implementation is another,’ she jokes, revealing that she had to negotiate with 50 different public bodies who have control over aspects of the river.
Leo Villareal, an American artist, famous for transforming San Francisco’s Bay Bridge into an international destination, was chosen to implement her vision.
‘The last artist to capture London’s bridges was Claude Monet,’ says hannah. ‘The spirit of can- do and togetherness didn’t end with the Olympics — it’s still there, waiting to be harnessed.’
hannah, who is a documentary filmmaker, businesswoman, philanthropist and former chair of the National Gallery trustees, has also written best- selling novels including The Improbability Of Love and The house Of Trelawney.