Greek Collector Donates Contemporary Works to Major Museums

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Greek collector Dimitris Daskalopoulos will donate 51 works from his contemporary art collection to four museums in Greece and Scotland, according to Gareth Harris of The Art Newspaper.

The donation forms part of Daskalopoulos’ ongoing philanthropic campaign and includes works mostly by Greek artists. The National Gallery of Greece in Athens will receive the largest share, with 29 works, while the other recipients are MOMus–Museum of Contemporary Art in Thessaloniki, the Museum of Contemporary Art of Crete and National Galleries Scotland in Edinburgh.

The initiative aims to preserve the works for future generations while promoting contemporary Greek creativity and raising its international profile.

Daskalopoulos’ representatives also said he will not seek tax benefits in any jurisdiction in connection with the donation.

Daskalopoulos made his fortune in the Greek food industry and founded Damma Holdings, a financial services and investment company. In 2013, he established the Athens-based Neon foundation, which is due to close later this year.

The National Gallery of Greece will receive 29 works by leading Greek modern and contemporary artists dating from the 1960s to the 1990s. The artists include Io Angeli, Konstantinos Andreou, Spyros Vikatos, Alekos Fassianos, George Vorres and Kostis Georgiou.

MOMus will receive 16 works, including pieces by Jay Heikes, Subodh Gupta, Seth Price, Catharina Van Eetvelde and Kelley Walker.

The Museum of Contemporary Art of Crete will receive three works by Nobuko Tsuchiya, Ioanna Pantazopoulou and Nana Sachini, while National Galleries Scotland will receive three works by Mike Kelley, Bruce Nauman and Margarita Myrogianni.

Daskalopoulos previously described himself as an intermediary rather than the sole owner of the works in his collection, arguing that art gains meaning through its interaction with audiences.

He is also funding the construction of the D. Daskalopoulos Arts Building at Athens College, which is due to open in June next year. He will continue to fund diaNEOsis, a non-profit research-based think tank in Athens, as well as individual curatorial positions at museums.

The latest donation follows Daskalopoulos’ major international art donations announced in 2022. He planned to donate more than 350 works to four international museums. Tate subsequently received more than 110 works, while the National Museum of Contemporary Art Athens (EMST) received 140. The Guggenheim Museum in New York and the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago jointly received around 100 works, while Guggenheim Bilbao received six additional works in 2025.

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