David M. Benett/Dave Benett/Getty Images for The V&ALast week, Elton John was photographed touring Florence, Italy’s famed Uffizi Gallery in a wheelchair, after a sprained ankle left him unable to walk around and see the paintings. Now, the art-loving superstar has gotten an entire gallery named after him at yet another famous museum.
According to the BBC, London’s Victoria & Albert Museum, which focuses on decorative arts and design, has named its new photography gallery the Sir Elton John and David Furnish Gallery, following what’s described as a “significant” donation from Sir Elton.
In addition to having the gallery named after him and his husband, Elton now has a place to display his extensive private photography collection, which includes more than 7,000 works from acclaimed photographers like Man Ray, Dorothea Lange and Cindy Sherman.
According to the BBC, Elton said in a statement, “We are delighted to be part of this exciting moment and we hope that audiences will walk away with the same excitement and appreciation for photography as I did when I first started collecting.”
Tristram Hunt, director of the V&A, added, “We are immensely grateful to Sir Elton John and David Furnish for their generosity in supporting our photography center and mission to make historic and contemporary photography available to the widest possible audience.”
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