The British Museum cuts ties with Sackler name, George Osborne announces

The British Museum cuts ties with Sackler name, George Osborne announces
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George McMillan

By George McMillan


Published: 26/03/2022

- 15:51

Updated: 26/03/2022

- 15:52

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

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.

General view of the British Museum in central London.
General view of the British Museum in central London.
Zak Hussein

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.

General view of the British Museum in Bloomsbury, London.
The British Museum in central London.
Tim Ireland

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.”

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