Natural History Museum to display 450,000 dinosaur fossil after London gallery helps secure buyer
Briefly

The David Aaron gallery facilitated the donation of a dinosaur skeleton, valued at £450,000, to London's Natural History Museum by an American art collecting couple. Initially believed to be a Nanosaurus, research revealed it as a new species, Enigmacursor. Director Salomon Aaron emphasized the rarity of such collaborations between art collectors and museums. The donors remained anonymous, but this marks the first acquisition of a dinosaur fossil by the couple, aiming to promote patronage in the sciences among art collectors.
The gallery David Aaron has brokered a deal between a top American art collecting couple and London’s Natural History Museum to acquire a dinosaur skeleton valued at £450,000. The specimen was donated to the NHM and unveiled last month, marking a permanent addition to their collection. This collaboration between the trade and museums is unusual but successful, according to gallery director Salomon Aaron, who facilitated the acquisition after determining the fossils were an entirely new species, named Enigmacursor.
Salomon Aaron explained, "I set out to find a private buyer to acquire it for the museum. It's the ideal scenario. Often it doesn't work, but in this instance it was a success story - harnessing the art market to help a museum." Such successful collaborations highlight the potential for philanthropy within the art and science communities, paving the way for contributions to science.
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