National Gallery finds 'unhinged' note hidden in hollow concrete column for decades

An "unhinged" note has been found in The National Gallery, where renovations are taking place on part of the Sainsbury Wing. 

London's acclaimed art museum is reforming its Sainsbury Wing and amid the rubble a letter from one of the original donors was discovered. The letter expressed distaste for architecht Robert Venturi, who had drafted the hollow pillars in his blueprint for the wing.

But one donor was displeased with the additions and made it known in a now released letter found in one of Venturi's pillars.

A post to Twitter/X revealed the contents of the letter, which has been described as "my kind of petty" and "completely rational" by members of the public.

The letter 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."

One Twitter/X user has likened the note to that of a time capsule discovery. They wrote: "No, I think that's completely rational. It's a time capsule, and it's a cut above normal time capsules because it had a clear communicative purpose - and it succeeded."

But another user replied and claimed the act of hiding a letter in wet concrete for it to be found in case of extreme renovation is a tad unhinged.

They said: "Sneaking into a construction site to drop a plastic folder into wet concrete is a *bit* unhinged like don’t get me wrong I love it but that’s absurd behaviour that I hope one day to have the opportunity to emulate."

That same user, original poster Madeline Odent, added: "The National Gallery in London is renovating its Sainsbury Wing and they’ve just found a secret letter from one of the original donors, sunk into a concrete column, saying that he hates the columns and is glad they’re being demolished. 10/10 unhinged rich man behaviour, no notes."