Samuel Courtauld Trust

The Samuel Courtauld Trust, established in 1932 by industrialist and philanthropist Samuel Courtauld, holds and develops an outstanding art collection of approximately 32,000 works—from medieval to contemporary—for public benefit. Rooted in Courtauld's vision of accessible art education and enjoyment, the Trust partners closely with the Courtauld Institute of Art and Gallery in London's City of Westminster. Its mission emphasizes the transformative power of visual culture, prioritizing scholarship, preservation, and public engagement through exhibitions, loans, and collaborative projects with national and international reach. Distinctive for its legacy-led approach, the Trust stewards masterpieces like Van Gogh’s “Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear” and Manet’s “A Bar at the Folies-Bergère,” while expanding via gifts, bequests, and an Acquisitions Fund focused on modern and contemporary works on paper.

It funds the advancement of arts, culture, and heritage through grants for artwork acquisitions, conservation, collection care, curatorial research, and public display initiatives, primarily benefiting the general public via the Courtauld Gallery. Support targets project-specific activities aligned with the Trust’s collection, with grants directed to closely linked institutions rather than broad charitable causes.

Eligible applicants are limited to UK-registered charities and academic institutions in the City of Westminster, but funding is invitation-only for existing partners like the Courtauld Institute—no unsolicited applications are accepted. There are no income thresholds, open rounds, or deadlines; decisions occur on a rolling basis at trustee level.

Grants range from tens of thousands to millions of pounds for major projects, excluding core costs, unrestricted support, or external grassroots efforts. Uniquely, the Trust avoids competitive bidding, focusing exclusively on targeted, high-impact interventions for world-class collection stewardship and excellence in the art sector.