Sir Elton John and David Furnish to curate exhibition in V&A's new Photography Centre

Sir Elton John and his husband David Furnish will co-curate a photography exhibition at the V&A after making a major donation to the museum.

The couple, whose collection of more than 7,000 photographs includes work by Man Ray, Dorothea Lange and Cindy Sherman, have made “a significant donation” towards the museum’s new Photography Centre.

They have also agreed to lend some of their collection and co-curate the exhibition, which will be held in the now renamed Sir Elton John and David Furnish Gallery.

The V&A opened the first phase of the centre in October. The second phase, due to open in 2022, will include a photographer’s studio, darkroom and classrooms.

Sir Elton praised the museum in South Kensington for its “dedication to teaching, public research facilities and learning-based exhibitions”. He said: “For David and I, this commitment to education and mission to celebrate the medium, presents a perfect partnership.

“The new Photography Centre, along with the 2022 extension, will not only elevate photography but it will help foster new artists, patrons and collectors, like myself.

“We are delighted to be part of this exciting moment and we hope that audiences will walk away with the same excitement and appreciation for photography, as I did when I first started collecting.”

More than 150 vintage prints from the couple’s collection previously went on show at Tate Modern in 2016-17, including Man Ray portraits of Matisse and Picasso.

V&A director Tristram Hunt said the planned exhibition would feature work from the museum’s existing collection and the couple’s own, in what he said would be a “revelatory photography exhibition”. He said: “We are immensely grateful to Sir Elton John and David Furnish for their generosity in supporting our Photography Centre and mission to make historic and contemporary photography available to the widest possible audience.” The date of the show is yet to be announced. Last year Sir Paul McCartney donated 63 photographs by his late wife Linda to the Photography Centre.

It included portraits of the Beatles, the Rolling Stones and Jimi Hendrix, as well as McCartney family snaps.