THE Masterworks Foundation this week received a $100,000 donation from Allied World Assurance Company, Ltd. (AWAC), moving it that much closer to its goal of building a state-of-the-art museum showcasing international and local artists.

The Bermuda-based company also pledged an additional $25,000 over the next five years, in support of the charity's ongoing educational initiatives.

"We are now well on our way to building a true people's museum," said the Foundation's executive director Tom Butterfield yesterday. "This pledge represents a tremendous contribution to the future of the arts in Bermuda."

AWAC's pledge pushed the funds raised past the $4 million mark ? two-thirds of the goal set by the charity's Capital Campaign Committee.

"The success of the capital campaign must be attributed to the close partnership and shared vision of individual supporters, businesses such as AWAC and the Government," Mr. Butterfield added. "The site of the new museum, at the Arrowroot Building in the Botanical Gardens, has been granted by the Bermuda Government for a peppercorn annual rent.

"This museum provides the ideal chance for corporations to contribute to the building of a cultural institution which will be here for generations to come. It is very encouraging to see the interest in the array of naming opportunities for specific areas within the museum. This bodes well for the coming year."

The director added that the Capital Campaign's seed money had been donated by individuals. Recent pledges from international and local businesses showed that the new museum had the entire community's support. "AWAC is pleased to support the Masterworks Foundation," said Michael Morrison, the company's vice-chairman. "Art and art education are part of Bermuda's rich cultural legacy and what the Foundation is doing has both historical and artistic significance.

"The Foundation's art collection gives all of us in Bermuda an opportunity to view and appreciate works by internationally-recognised artists, while at the same time ensures the preservation of the island's cultural treasures.

"We look forward to the opening of the art museum and hope that it will become a vehicle for greater cultural awareness and national pride here in Bermuda."

Initial construction work to the new museum is scheduled for this winter with an expected completion date in the autumn of 2005.