This 17th century anatomical model of a pregnant woman from the Wellcome Collection's Medicine Man gallery. © Wellcome Trust

The Director of the Wellcome Collection has revealed that if her institution wins the £100,000 Art Fund Prize next Thursday, May 22, they want give the prize money to the other finalists.

Speaking on last night’s BBC Radio 4 arts programme, Front Row, Clare Matterson told a surprised John Wilson: “We spend £1.5m a year and we are very privileged to have a wonderful budget. We don’t deserve another £100,000. We don’t need the money.”

“We would be honoured and thrilled to receive the prize as a recognition. If the others would like to share the money between them then that would be a wonderful outcome for all of us.”

The Wellcome Foundation opened in June 2007 in a landmark £30m development.

Ranging over two floors and three galleries on London’s Euston Road, the museum builds on the vision, legacy and remarkable personal collection of Sir Henry Wellcome who amassed a massive collection of over one million medical related items.

A wall shows an impressive collection of medical-related paintings. © Richard Moss / 24 Hour Museum

The Trust Henry Wellcome founded, The Wellcome Trust, was established in 1936 with an endowment of around £15 billion. It is the UK's largest non-governmental source of funds for biomedical research.

The three other museums up for the prize are the UK’s most northerly museum, Shetland Museum and Archives, The Lightbox, a new museum in Woking and The British Empire and Commonwealth Museum, Bristol, for ‘Breaking the Chains’ a landmark exhibition exploring the 500-year history and legacy of slavery.

Decided by a panel of experts and awarded for originality, imagination and excellence, the winner of the Art Fund Prize for museums and galleries 2008 will be announced on May 28 at the Royal Institute of British Architects in London.