Gabriele Finaldi

The National Gallery director's ambition has attracted £375m in donations, writes Vanessa Thorpe

- Vanessa Thorpe

Money changes things. It doesn't matter if you are the best of friends or, as in the case of the National Gallery and Tate Britain, merely on good terms; when one side benefits suddenly from a large windfall of cash or a bit of successful prospecting, a relationship can sour overnight.

In London these grand temples of fine art both still rank high on the list for cultural tourism. But the National Gallery, packed with Titians, Monets and Turners, has just pulled off a huge financial coup, netting £375m. It is run by Gabriele Finaldi, a tall, dark, courteous man from unlovely Catford, south London, who has managed to defy the funding crunch in the arts world by securing two vast donations of £150m each. One comes from Crankstart, a foundation set up by Sir Michael Moritz and his wife Harriet Heyman, and the other from the Julia Rausing Trust.

"This is an amazing feat of negotiation and fundraising," says Alison Cole, a former editor of the Art Newspaper who directs the independent Cultural Policy Unit. "We should all celebrate ambition on this scale. It also presents an exciting opportunity for Tate, as well as the National Gallery, to reassess its buildings and collections policies."

The question of what Finaldi will do with the money (more has come from anonymous donors) is crucial, not just for the art-loving public, but also for Maria Balshaw, director of Tate, which includes Tate Modern and galleries in St Ives and Liverpool, who must be welcoming his good fortune with a tightly clenched jaw. Officially, the innovative Balshaw is applauding the news, saying she will work closely with Finaldi to "further the national collection as a whole". But the land grab has come as the National Gallery and Tate Britain are battling to maintain visitor numbers.