2 SEPTEMBER 1955, Page 14

SIR—In his sympathetic and perceptive ac- count of our current

Mondriaan exhibition Mr. Basil Taylor refers to this Gallery as 'self-supporting and modestly endowed,' and then refers to the Arts Council. May I take this opportunity of stressing two facts which may, very reasonably, not be known to Mr. Taylor? First, the Whitechapel Art Gallery is not self-supporting because of its excessively modest endowment, and we frequently have to appeal for funds to carry on the work here; and second, the Arts Council has on several occasions provided us with grants for exhibi- tions. We received what I understand to be our final grant last year; and, although we have somehow managed to present the Mon- driaan show without official support, I must stress the point that help from the Arts Council has, in the past, been most generous. I wish that we could be self-supporting, but this happy state will never be achieved without direct Treasury intervention.—Yours faithfully,

BRYAN ROBERTSON, Director

Whitechapel Art Gallery, London, El