Tate has become the latest museum to drop the Sackler name amid concerns about the billionaire family’s role in the opioid epidemic, with the Tate Modern removing a plaque marking the Sackler Escalator.
Tate Modern is also set to remove a sign next to the Sackler lifts, and the Sackler Octagon at the Tate Britain will be renamed, The Times reports (via Evening Standard).
“Following conversations with the donor, it was mutually agreed to remove references to the Sackler family during the latest round of updates to gallery signage,” Tate said in a statement to Artnet News.
Tate’s decision to drop the Sackler name comes after The Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC removed the name from seven exhibition spaces in the building. The Louvre in Paris axed the Sackler name from a major wing in 2019.
Tate’s Sackler Octagon to be renamed
Dan Weiss, president and CEO of The Met, said: “The Met has been built by the philanthropy of generations of donors, and the Sacklers have been among our most generous supporters.”
“This gracious gesture by the Sacklers aids the museum in continuing to serve this and future generations,” Weiss added. “We greatly appreciate it.”
“Our families have always strongly supported The Met, and we believe this to be in the best interest of the museum and the important mission that it serves,” descendants of Mortimer Sackler and Raymond Sackler said in a statement.
“The earliest of these gifts were made almost fifty years ago, and now we are passing the torch to others who might wish to step forward to support the museum.”
The Sackler family owns Purdue Pharma, the manufacturer of opioid painkiller OxyContin. The opioid crisis in the US has claimed the lives of more than 500,000 Americans.
Image: Tate
