The Francis Haskell Memorial Fund was established soon after Francis’s death, with donations made by close to a hundred of his friends and admirers from all over the world.

The chief instigators were Caroline Elam, who for more than two decades served as the Fund’s chief administrator, and Nicholas Penny. Other founding trustees were John Nicoll, who until 2026 acted as treasurer, Larissa Salmina Haskell, Charles Hope, and Jon Whiteley.

Francis Haskell’s widow, Larissa Salmina Haskell, left a significant legacy to the Fund that transformed its capacity, and may rightly be regarded as its second founder. For an account of Larissa’s career and publications, written by Professor Catherine Whistler click here. 

Parallel Lives: A Love Story from a lost Continent by Iain Pears (William Collins, 2025), based on recordings of Larissa’s recollections together with the journals kept by Francis, traces their lives before they began their life together in Oxford.

Francis Haskell was for many years closely associated with The Burlington Magazine, and for several years the trustees adjudicated a supplementary scholarship with Alastair Laing representing the magazine. Following Alastair Laing’s death in 2024, the editor of the Burlington, Christopher Baker, agreed to become a trustee; this coincided with an agreement that the magazine should take over management of the charity’s funds.

Other trustees appointed in 2023 are Dr Susanna Avery-Quash, Dr Silvia Davoli and Dr Tom Stammers. Interest in Francis Haskell’s intellectual legacy has now passed to a generation that never knew him personally, but who will have an opportunity in the future to gain new insights into his work from the archive of the National Gallery, in which his papers have been deposited.

Obituaries of Jon Whiteley and Alastair Laing appeared in the Burlington Magazine for May 2000 and October 2024 respectively.