A letter written by a patron saying 'I'm glad you cut it' was found inside a mock pillar cut during renovations at the British National Gallery

Workers at the National Gallery in London who were dismantling a column at the end of a passageway to expand the Sainsbury Wing discovered a letter hidden inside the column. The letter was signed by Sir John Sainsbury, a major supporter of the museum and the man for whom the passageway is named, and was dated 26 June 1990. It said, 'I would like to inform anyone who finds the letter that one of the building's donors is very pleased that you have decided to cut down the row of unnecessary columns.'

Sainsbury Wing contractors find 1990 letter from donor anticipating their demolition of false columns

National Gallery donor's secret letter decrying building design found as pillar demolished
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/08/27/national-gallery-donor-secret-letter-found-in-pillar/

Thank God you're knocking down the building I paid for - I hated it, says millionaire National Gallery donor in letter he insisted was hidden in columns he loathed | Daily Mail Online
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13786271/Builders-demolishing-column-National-Gallery-letter-rich-donor-paid-hated-pillar.html

Sir John Sainsbury is a member of the family that founded the British supermarket chain Sainsbury's. He is also an aristocrat holding the title of Baron Sainsbury of Preston and Candover, and is known as a philanthropist who is involved in charitable work.

In 1985, Lord Sainsbury and his two brothers donated approximately 50 million pounds (approximately 9.55 billion yen) to the National Gallery, and in 1991 the Sainsbury Wing was created with the donation.

The letter was found inside a pillar in the Sainsbury Wing, which was designed by American postmodernist architect Robert Venturi and his wife, fellow architect Denise Scott Brown. Lord Sainsbury was pleased with the design overall, except for two 'false columns' that he thought had no structural function.

In the letter, Lord Sainsbury wrote: 'I am convinced that the false column was an error on the part of the architect and that we will come to regret accepting this detail of the design,' and concluded: 'I would like to inform you that one of the building's donors is extremely pleased that your generation has decided to do away with these unnecessary columns.'

The design is by architect Annabel Selldorf, and there has been opposition from groups who believe the Sainsbury Wing should remain intact, as well as from Brown, the original designers, and the Royal Institute of Architects.

Lord Sainsbury passed away in 2022 without seeing the removal of the false columns, which he disliked, but his wife Anya, who received the letters, said: 'I am delighted that John's letters have been rediscovered after all these years, and I think John would be relieved and delighted that the gallery will be renovated and a new space created.'