[Photo provided to China Daily]

A forum held at Beijing's National Art Museum of China on Monday commemorated a generous donation of German industrialists and collectors Irene and Peter Ludwig 20 years ago. Museum director Wu Weishan said a specific exhibition hall will display the donated artworks at the museum’s new building after it is open in two years, located near the National Stadium (the Bird's Nest).

The couple donated 117 Western art works, including paintings, sculptures and installation of artists such as Pablo Picasso, Roy Lichtenstein, Gerhard Richter and David Hockney, making one of the most important contributions in NAMOC's history.

Yang Lizhou, then NAMOC's deputy director, later recalled that when Ludwig visited China to discuss about donation, he was at first not very determined, because there were doubts about a national art museum accepting Westerners' donations.

"I assured him that one quarter of the world's population will support and remember him for his generosity," Yang said.

Wu said the donation greatly enrich the museum's collection of contemporary Western art, opening mind of both art circles and ordinary viewers.R