The National Gallery is to make serious cuts, with a significant number of staff expected to leave, in the face of a £8.2m deficit in the coming year. Running costs have increased considerably in recent years, with income now stagnant. The looming cuts will also impact the exhibition programme.
In a statement to The Art Newspaper, a spokesperson says that the gallery will “be stopping several of our activities where, for a number of reasons beyond our control, we can no longer justify their costs”.
Initially there will be a “voluntary exit scheme” available to all staff of the National Gallery and its commercial arm. If this does not raise sufficient savings, then compulsory redundancies are possible.
This news comes after the gallery’s announcement last September that it had received pledges of £150m each (from Michael Moritz’s Crankstart foundation and the Julia Rausing Trust) for its planned major new extension, scheduled for completion in the early 2030s. These donations are ring-fenced and the project is expected to continue as planned.
Until today’s news of cuts there was little indication of the growing deficit. This was because the financial results for 2024-25 received a major boost from the gallery’s Van Gogh exhibition, which attracted a record 335,000 visitors.
In the current financial year, which ends in March, the gallery expects to face a deficit of around £2m. Unless decisive remedial action is taken now, the 2026-27 deficit is estimated to grow a further £6.2m, totalling £8.2m.
The gallery spokesperson cites “the present global landscape with the cost-of-living crisis” as a reason for the deficit. Like other institutions, the gallery ”faces increasing competition for people’s time and share of wallet”, they add.
The gallery’s visitor numbers have still not recovered from just before Covid, when it had six million visitors a year. In the 12 months ending in September 2025, the figure was 3.8 million. With the reopening of the Sainsbury Wing last May, the figures are improving. But despite rising numbers, visitors are usually coming to see the free permanent collection, rather than buying exhibition tickets or paying for coffees.
A view of George Stubbs' Whistlejacket at the National Gallery, London
Photo: Spiroview Inc.
The gallery says: “Due to many widely reported circumstances which are beyond our control, such as rises in operational costs and commercial pressures, we have now reached a point where we must make difficult and painful decisions… To achieve sustainability, we must balance our artistic and educational mission with a new operating structure.” The gallery has also had to navigate newly elevated business rates and national insurance payments, as well as inflation.
The gallery, as a national museum, currently receives an annual government grant of £32m. Discussions about its finances have been held with the culture department, but there is understood to be little prospect of a substantial rise.
With regard to the exhibition programme, the cuts could mean fewer free exhibitions, not as many ticketed shows, less international borrowing of artworks, and more expensive tickets. These options are to be explored in the coming months.
The initial voluntary “exit” scheme offered to staff, who number nearly 500, will include financial incentives to leave. After this, the gallery says it “will be consulting with staff on plans for going forward”—which could involve compulsory redundancies.
“We all must understand that things have changed,” the gallery spokesperson says. “We need to make tough decisions now to future-proof the gallery for the years ahead”.