Ken Reed to give $5.5m to Sydney Uni

Arts patron Kenneth Reed will give $5.5m and a collection of paintings to the University of Sydney. Source: AAP

RENOWNED arts patron Kenneth Reed will give $5.5 million and a collection of centuries-old paintings to the University of Sydney.

Mr Reed has donated $500,000 to fund scholarships for PhD students of English literature, the university announced on Wednesday.

The retired lawyer has also bequeathed 14 Dutch old master paintings to his alma mater, along with $5 million.

Of that, $4 million is earmarked for postdoctoral fellowships in English, and $1 million for the care and conservation of the paintings and other works in the university's collection.

It is not the first time the septuagenarian has made a significant donation.

He offered paintings, porcelain and pottery to the Art Gallery of NSW worth a total of almost $13 million, telling AAP in 2012 that his Sydney apartment had been getting "a bit crowded" with art.

A 2005 donation of $1 million to the Australian Ballet was the biggest one-off contribution in the ballet's history, the university says.

Mr Reed said fond memories of his university days inspired his latest act of philanthropy.

"My fondest memories were when I was doing English," he said in a statement on Wednesday.

"A degree in English or the arts equips you for any other field.

"People need a good basis and understanding of their own language and the history and literature of their own language."

Mr Reed graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in 1957 and a Bachelor of Laws in 1960.

Arts and Social Sciences dean Duncan Ivison said the gift was an enormous vote of confidence.

"It is a huge boost, both practically and morally, for the importance of the humanities, and in this case, in the study of English literature," he said.

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