Art Fund has announced today that Sandy Nairne will succeed Lord Smith of Finsbury as Chair of Trustees this autumn.
Sandy Nairne CBE FSA was Director of the National Portrait Gallery from 2002-15. Throughout a 45-year career in museums and galleries, he has held positions at Tate, the Arts Council of Great Britain and the Institute of Contemporary Arts as well as working in television and writing. His extensive governance and advisory experience includes roles with St Paul’s Cathedral, Maggie’s cancer care, Courtauld Collection, Seafarers Hospital Society, Clore Leadership Programme, National Trust, Mayor’s Commission for Diversity in the Public Realm, The Wolfson Foundation and the Queen Elizabeth Memorial Committee.
Sandy Nairne said:
I am honoured to be appointed as Chair of Art Fund and to follow Chris Smith, who has led it with such distinction through a period of successful development. This is a dynamic, independent organisation that I admire tremendously. Art Fund is doing crucial work across the visual arts, particularly at a time when renewing collections, investing in expertise and extending engagement are vital to the culture and heritage of this country.
Chris Smith, Lord Smith of Finsbury, Chairman, Art Fund, said:
I can think of no-one better than Sandy to take the work of Art Fund forward over the coming years. Over the last decade, we’ve led the way in saving the Wedgwood Collection for the nation, in rescuing Derek Jarman’s cottage at Dungeness, and in recently helping to secure the Reynolds portrait of Mai for the National Portrait Gallery. We’ve helped hundreds of museums and galleries up and down the country. We’ve supported scores of curators. We’ve enabled our 135,000 members to experience the joy and inspiration museums can bring. I’ve been so proud to lead this great organisation, and I warmly welcome Sandy to the role, and wish him well in carrying on Art Fund’s great work.
Lord Smith of Finsbury, Chair, Art Fund, 2014 to present
A Labour MP from 1983 – 2005 and the UK’s first Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (1997–2001), Chris Smith introduced free admission to national museums, the Renaissance in the Regions programme for regional museums, and brought in major changes to the acceptance-in-lieu scheme. He is President of the Wordsworth Trust and Master of Pembroke College Cambridge, served as chair of the London Cultural Consortium (2005–2008) and was the founding director of the Clore Leadership Programme, established to develop new leaders for the cultural sector.
Over the last decade under Chris Smith’s chairmanship, Art Fund has:
- Given over £58.5m in grants to help museums build their collections and reach audiences. This included £3.8m in urgent funding in response to the pandemic, primarily through the Reimagine funding scheme designed to help museums meet immediate need.
- Helped 850 museums acquire over 26,500 works of art and objects for their collections.
- Awarded the largest single grant in its history, £2.5m to the National Portrait Gallery in 2023 to secure Joshua Reynold’s masterpiece Portrait of Mai for the UK’s national collection.
- Continued to build a national community of museum visitors through the National Art Pass, with over 135,000 members across the UK.
- Launched the Student Art pass, Teacher Art Pass, discounted membership for under-30s, and created Plus Kids for families, to help reach the next generation of museum goers.
- Greatly expanded its relationship with UK museums, creating a network of over 900 museums, historic house and gallery partners who offer benefits to National Art Pass members.
- Spearheaded multi-million-pound public fundraising appeals to protect objects and collections of cultural significance, including the £15.75m campaign to ensure the Wedgwood Collection was not broken up and lost from public view, and the £3.5m appeal to save artist and filmmaker Derek Jarman’s Prospect Cottage for the nation.
- Created the biggest ever UK museums collaboration, with over 500 museums coming together with schools, families and children to highlight biodiversity loss for The Wild Escape in 2023
- Annually hosted Art Fund Museum of the Year, shortlisting outstanding museums for the world’s largest museum prize
- Supported an increasing range of artistic commissions for public collections and free outdoor spaces, including the Hackney Windrush Art Commissions in 2021
- Increased its role in advocating for a confident and inclusive sector, lobbying government, funders and partners on issues from cultural education to sustainable funding models for museums, the export bar system and exhibitions tax relief
