Dr Nicholas Cullinan joins The British Museum from the National Portrait Gallery. Dr Nicholas Cullinan OBE has been appointed as the new Director of the British Museum, following the unanimous approval of the Board of Trustees and the agreement of the Prime Minister.
One of the greatest museums in the world, it is an honour to become the next Director of the British
Dr Nicholas Cullinan OBE, Incoming Director of the British Museum,
Museum. I look forward to joining its wonderful and dedicated staff and to work with its hugely
impressive Board in leading it into a new chapter. This will encompass the most significant
transformations, both architectural and intellectual, happening in any museum globally, to continue
making the British Museum the most engaged and collaborative it can be. I want to pay tribute to my
predecessors, most recently Sir Mark Jones, and look forward to building on their extraordinary
achievements. Leading the remarkable transformation of the National Portrait Gallery over the last
decade with its wonderful Trustees, staff and supporters has been the honour of a lifetime and I can’t
imagine a better challenge or opportunity to build on that than collectively reimagining the British
Museum for the widest possible audience and future generations.
Nicholas is one of the UK’s most admired and experienced museum directors, having successfully run the National Portrait Gallery since April 2015. During his time at the National Portrait Gallery Nicholas
led the most significant transformation in the Gallery’s history, with a complete re-presentation of the
Collection and major redevelopment of the building increasing public space by a fifth. Before that he
worked at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and Tate Modern in London as a curator,
bringing an international perspective to his approach. Nicholas takes over from Interim Director Sir Mark Jones and will take up his role in the summer.
The Trustees chose Nicholas Cullinan as the new Director of the British Museum because he brings
George Osborne, Chair of the British Museum,
proven leadership today and great potential for tomorrow. He has shown his capacity as Director of
the National Portrait Gallery to oversee both a major physical renovation and a compelling renewal of
purpose in a way that doesn’t take sides, but brings people together – and won universal acclaim. We
believe he can achieve this, and more, on the bigger scale of the British Museum as we undertake a
once-in-a-generation redevelopment. In doing so he can build on the solid foundations laid by Mark
Jones, to whom we owe a huge debt of gratitude for stepping into the breach last year. I could not be
more thrilled for Nick and more excited for us as we enter this new chapter in the long story of the
British Museum with confidence, and back on the front foot.
Dr Nicholas Cullinan OBE became Director of the National Portrait Gallery in spring 2015 and
oversaw the biggest transformation of the Gallery since its building opened in 1896. He also initiated
an innovative international collaboration with Getty to co-acquire Portrait of Mai (c. 1776) by Sir
Joshua Reynolds – the largest acquisition in the Gallery’s history and that the UK has ever made
(along with the Titian acquired by the National Gallery and National Galleries of Scotland in 2009).
Prior to this, he was a curator at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and Tate Modern in
London, where he co-curated an exhibition of Henri Matisse’s cut-outs with Sir Nicholas Serota in
2014, which is the most popular exhibition in Tate’s history and the first to receive more than half a
million visitors.
Nicholas received his BA, MA and PhD in art history from the Courtauld Institute of Art in London and
in 2006–7 he held the Hilla Rebay International Fellowship at the Guggenheim museums in Bilbao,
New York and Venice. Other fellowships include The Morgan Library & Museum in New York and the
British School at Rome. Nicholas sits on several boards, including as a Trustee of Chatsworth House
Trust and has published extensively and lectured internationally. He was awarded an OBE for services to the Arts in the 2024 King’s New Years Honours list.
