- Ron Gittins meticulously decorated his rented apartment from 1986 until his death in 2019.
- Friends feared the art-filled apartment would be lost after it was auctioned.
- He was saved on Wednesday thanks to an anonymous donation of £335,000, or around $400,000.
An anonymous benefactor has donated £335,000 (nearly $400,000) to help campaigners buy an art-filled apartment featuring everything from an ornate Roman altar to a handmade papier-mâché lion’s head .
The flat’s former resident was artist Ron Gittins, who died in 2019. He started renting the property in Birkenhead, near Liverpool, in north-west England, in 1986, and spent the The next 33 years of painting every inch of the interior and filling it with bizarre works of art. .
After his death, friends and family came together to pay Gittins rent and try to preserve his art-filled home. But they feared that the apartment, which they call Gittins’ “secret world” is believed to be lost forever after it was auctioned off earlier this week.
The decision to found Save Ron’s house to raise money to buy the flat – and even got the backing of Pulp frontman Jarvis Cocker, who is also a presenter on BBC Radio 6 Music.
Nothing is yet known about who made the donation or why they decided to make it.
Take a look inside Gittins’ house.