Architectural Criticism in a Time Capsule

The note, well preserved in a plastic sleeve, was found by a contractor during demolition work for Annabelle Selldorf's remodeling of the Sainsbury Wing, which was approved at the end of 2022. The typed letter, dated 26th July 1990, was placed by John Sainsbury into a concrete column during construction, per The Art Newspaper; it was discovered last year and is now in the museum's archive. The all-caps typewritten note, addressed “TO THOSE WHO FIND THIS NOTE,” reads:

IF YOU HAVE FOUND THIS NOTE YOU MUST BE ENGAGED IN DEMOLISHING ONE OF THE FALSE COLUMNS THAT HAVE BEEN PLACED IN THE FOYER OF THE SAINSBURY WING OF THE NATIONAL GALLERY. I BELIEVE THAT THE FALSE COLUMNS ARE A MISTAKE OF THE ARCHITECT AND THAT WE WOULD LIVE TO REGRET OUR ACCEPTING THIS DETAIL OF HIS DESIGN.

LET IT BE KNOWN THAT ONE OF THE DONORS OF THIS BUILDING IS ABSOLUTELY DELIGHTED THAT YOUR GENERATION HAS DECIDED TO DISPENSE WITH THE UNNECESSARY COLUMNS.

The Sainsbury Wing, designed by Robert Venturi and Denise Scott Brown, is considered a masterpiece of postmodern architecture. Completed in 1991, it received the 25-Year Award from the American Institute of Architects in 2019. The addition is as famous for its circumstances as for its postmodern design with playful pilasters outside and fake columns inside. The commission to VSBA followed a competition-winning design by Ahrends Burton & Koralek by two years. Prince Charles, speaking at a RIBA gala in 1984, denounced ABK's modern design as “a monstrous carbuncle on the face of a much loved and elegant friend,” that friend being William Wilkins' 1838 National Gallery building on Trafalgar Square. That now-famous sentence squashed the original design and led the client, with help from John and two other brothers that were heir to the Sainsbury supermarket chain and who pledged to cover the costs of the wing, to select VSBA as the architect of the addition. Venturi and Scott Brown's design was a clear counterpoint to the ABK design.

John Sainsbury's death at the age of 94 in 2022, meant he was alive when the process for the remodeling of the Sainsbury Wing began, but he did not live long enough for the actual unearthing of his note. His widow, Anya, though was present when her husband’s note was removed and said: “I was so happy for John’s letter to be rediscovered after all these years, and I feel he would be relieved and delighted for the gallery’s new plans and the extra space they are creating.”

While VSBA designed the foyer as a dark, crypt-like space that would “compress” visitors before the “release” of the grand stair and the airy galleries, John Sainsbury felt the addition of fake columns in the foyer to that effect would complicate wayfinding and confuse visitors. (“Other than the false columns,” The Art Newspaper says, “John Sainsbury was happy with the Venturi and Scott Brown design.”) Donors and client relented to the architect and left the two fake columns in. But an important part of Annabelle Selldorf's remodeling of the wing has been opening up the lobby space, so, over the objections of preservationists, the fake columns were removed — and with them the discovery of a “time capsule,” just 33 years after it was written.