Sir Elton John has had a gallery named in his honour after he made a “significant” donation to the Victoria & Albert Museum.
The legendary musician, who recently unveiled the cover for his upcoming memoir, gave the large sum to the London attraction’s new photography centre, which opened in October 2018.
Recognising John and his husband David Furnish’s generosity, gallery 101 has been renamed the Sir Elton John and David Furnish Gallery. The star’s private collection of more than 7,000 photographs will also go on display, with the images spanning from the early 20th Century to the present day.
John has described the collaboration and renaming as “the perfect partnership”, with a major co-curated temporary exhibition set to be announced in the near future. See an image of the gallery’s new sign below.
“We are delighted to be part of this exciting moment and we hope that audiences will walk away with the same excitement and appreciation for photography as I did when I first started collecting,” said John in a statement.
Tristram Hunt, director of the V&A, added: “We are immensely grateful to Sir Elton John and David Furnish for their generosity in supporting our photography centre and mission to make historic and contemporary photography available to the widest possible audience.”
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John and Furnish’s donation means that the museum will be able to showcase a new series of temporary displays, annual contemporary commissions, and highlights from its extensive collection of images.
Meanwhile, Rocketman’s Taron Egerton has said that the upcoming movie on John’s life won’t shy away from diving into the star’s addictions.