British Museum cuts ties with Sackler name

The Sackler name will be removed from galleries, rooms and endowments they supported.

The Great Court inside The British Museum.

By Ellie Iorizzo, PA Senior Entertainment Reporter

March 26 2022 11:58 AM

The British Museum has announced it is removing the Sackler name as “we’re moving into a new era”.

It is the latest cultural institution to cut ties with the Sackler name, removing it from “galleries, rooms and endowments they supported”, British Museum chairman George Osborne announced.

The Sackler name is synonymous with huge charitable donations to galleries and museums across the UK.

As Chair @britishmuseum we’ve reached agreement with the Raymond & Beverly Sackler Foundation. The Sackler name will be removed from the galleries,rooms & endowments they supported. We’re moving into a new era, presenting our great collection in different ways for new audiences
— George Osborne (@George_Osborne) March 25, 2022

However, controversy surrounds them over family links to Purdue Pharma, which produces OxyContin, a painkiller which promoted public concerns in relation to the US opioid crisis.

The National Portrait Gallery, Tate and the Roundhouse are among those to have turned down Sackler money in recent years.

The chairman of the British Museum announced that it has “reached agreement” with the Raymond & Beverly Sackler Foundation to remove the name from their walls.

“We’re moving into a new era, presenting our great collection in different ways for new audiences,” Mr Osborne tweeted.

In a statement to The Guardian, the Raymond and Beverly Sackler Foundation said it has admired the work of the British Museum over the years.

It added: “As the museum develops a new masterplan to transform for the future, we feel this decision comes at a unique moment in the museum’s evolution.”