Gallery refuses £1m gift over painkiller link

The National Portrait Gallery is to decline a £1million donation from The Sackler Trust following protests about the family’s involvement in making the painkiller Oxycontin. The Sacklers were forced to withdraw a gift that would have helped redevelop the London gallery.

THE National Portrait Gallery (NPG) will not accept a £1million donation from The Sackler Trust following protests about the family’s involvement in manufacturing the controversial painkiller, Oxycontin.

The Sacklers were forced to withdraw their gift, which would have helped to fund redevelopment of the London gallery.

Last month, Nan Goldin, the US artist, said she would refuse a retrospective of her work at the gallery if it accepted the donation.

Members of the Sackler family have made billions from Oxycontin, a highly addictive drug. A civil lawsuit alleges that their pharmaceutical firm pushed doctors to prescribe the drug and misrepresented its risk factors, contributing to the opioid crisis that is gripping the US. The family deny all allegations.

A statement issued by the NPG said the gallery and The Sackler Trust had “jointly agreed” not to proceed with the donation.

The family’s largesse has previously been lavished on the V&A, the National Gallery, the National Theatre, the Royal Opera House and many others.

But the pressure ramped up in January when the Massachusetts attorney general filed a lawsuit alleging that members of the billionaire family had, through their company Purdue Pharma, misrepresented the risks of addiction and death associated with prolonged use of prescription opioids.

Purdue said in response that the lawsuit “distorts critical facts” and “is littered with biased and inaccurate characterisations”.

A spokesman for the Trust said: “The Sackler Trust has supported institutions playing crucial roles in health, education, science and the arts for almost half a century and we were pleased to have the opportunity to offer a new gift to support the National Portrait Gallery.

“The allegations against family members are vigorously denied, but to avoid being a distraction for the NPG, we have decided not to proceed at this time with the donation.

“We continue to believe strongly in the gallery and the wonderful work it does.”

David Ross, Chair of the National Portrait Gallery said: “I acknowledge the generosity of the Sackler Family and their support of the arts over the years. We understand and support their decision not to proceed at this time with the donation to the Gallery.”

A spokesman for the National Portrait Gallery said: “We fully respect and support the Sackler family’s decision.”