Victoria Siddall has been appointed Director of the National Portrait Gallery, London, it was announced today, Wednesday 28th August 2024.
The appointment, made by the National Portrait Gallery’s Board of Trustees, was approved by the Prime Minister, and Victoria Siddall will take up the post in Autumn 2024.
I am delighted to welcome Victoria Siddall as the new Director of the National Portrait Gallery. Her strengths as a cultural leader are considerable, as is her knowledge of the art world, understanding of audiences and international profile. I know that she has the vision and determination to build on our recent successes and lead the next stage of the Gallery’s development, and I greatly look forward to working with her.
David Ross, Chairman of the Trustees of the National Portrait Gallery, London,
Victoria Siddall has over 20 years’ experience of leadership positions in the art world, both in the public and private sectors. Most recently, she co-founded Gallery Climate Coalition and Murmur, two charities that drive environmental responsibility in the art and music sectors, and or the past two years she has also worked with Tate in a strategic advisory capacity. Victoria was previously Global Director of Frieze, founding Frieze Masters and then leading four international art fairs across London, New York and Los Angeles. After securing the launch of Frieze Seoul, she became a non-executive Director of Frieze in March 2022.
Victoria is a trustee of Gallery Climate Coalition and the Ampersand Foundation and was until recently a trustee of the National Portrait Gallery. As Chair of the Board of Studio Voltaire, she guided the organisation through a successful capital redevelopment campaign, greatly increasing the space dedicated to artist studios and public programmes. Other voluntary work has included securing a series of auction donations, which raised over $6.5m for the environmental charity ClientEarth.
Victoria Siddall will bring a wealth of experience to this role and I am delighted that the National Portrait Gallery is making history by appointing its first female Director. Her leadership will lead the Gallery from strength to strength, building on their successful reopening last year and I am excited to see what she and the National Portrait Gallery team will have in store for us in the coming years
Lisa Nandy, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport,
The appointment of the Gallery’s thirteenth Director follows the departure of previous post-holder, Dr Nicholas Cullinan OBE, who left the Gallery to become Director of the British Museum in June 2024, and Victoria Siddall will take over from Interim Director Michael Elliott.
I’m truly honoured to have the opportunity to lead the National Portrait Gallery, a museum that holds the world’s greatest collection of portraits and is unique in being about people and for people. The art within its walls tells stories of human achievement and what unites us as a society, inspiring and shaping our view of the world and our place in it. This is perhaps the most exciting time in the NPG’s history, following the recent reopening and Inspiring People project that the team delivered so flawlessly under Nicholas Cullinan’s leadership. The perfect stage has been built and I am thrilled to work with my new colleagues, the museum’s trustees and supporters and of course the artists, as we look to the future and embark on a new chapter.
Victoria Siddall, incoming Director of the National Portrait Gallery,
Permanent Directors of the National Portrait Gallery, London
1857 Sir George Scharf
1895 Sir Lionel Cust
1909 Sir Charles John Holmes
1917 James Milner
1927 Sir Henry Hake
1951 Charles Kingsley Adams
1964 Sir David Piper
1967 Sir Roy Strong
1974 John Hayes
1994 Charles Saumarez Smith
2002 Sandy Nairne
2015 Dr Nicholas Cullinan
2024 Victoria Siddall
About
Victoria Siddall began her career at Christie’s in 2000 after graduating from Bristol University with a degree in English Literature and Philosophy. She joined Frieze in 2004, first as Head of Development, and in 2012 she launched Frieze Masters as the fair’s inaugural Director. Frieze Masters offered a fresh perspective on historical art and Victoria enlisted curators including Adriano Pedrosa, who curated the Spotlight section showcasing lesser-known 20th century artists.
In 2015, Victoria took over from the founders of the organisation as Global Director of the Frieze fairs in London and New York. In 2019, she oversaw the launch of Frieze Los Angeles at Paramount Studios which celebrated LA’s extensive art scene and created a globally significant art week in the city. In January 2021, Victoria became Board Director of Frieze, and secured the launch of Frieze Seoul, which took place for the first time in September 2022. Victoria is now a Non-executive Director of Frieze and continues to play an ambassadorial and advisory role.
Victoria joined the board of Studio Voltaire in 2012 and became Chair of the trustees in 2014. Studio Voltaire is a non-profit gallery and artist studio complex in south London that plays a vital role in the local community as well as on the global stage. During her tenure she oversaw a major capital redevelopment campaign and Studio Voltaire reopened in 2021 with significantly increased and improved artist studio spaces as well as public programmes. She has recently been made an honorary trustee.
In 2020, Victoria co-founded Gallery Climate Coalition (GCC), a charity and membership organisation for the art world which has over 1100 members in 40 countries, all of whom have committed to a 50% reduction in carbon emissions by 2030. As a trustee of GCC Victoria has been a global ambassador on this topic, speaking and chairing panel discussions to raise awareness and drive change across the industry.
With Thomas Dane and Christie’s, Victoria launched Artists for ClientEarth in 2021 which raised over $6.5m for this leading environmental charity through donations of artists’ work. Works were sold over the course of a year and included donations from Cecily Brown, Rashid Johnson, Xie Nanxing, Antony Gormley and Beatriz Milhazes.
Victoria is the Founding Director of Murmur, a new initiative launched earlier this year that channels funds from the art and music industries into the most impactful environmental projects. Murmur launched with over £1m in pledges from art and music organisations. Funds are allocated to industry solutions, environmental charities, and empowering artists and musicians to change the conversation and generate positive action.
Since 2022, Victoria has been working closely with the Directors and Trustees of Tate as a Strategic Advisor, as well as advising other art organisations.
From July 2023 to August 2024, Victoria was a Trustee of the National Portrait Gallery, having served on the Reopening Committee for the year prior to that. She is also a Trustee of the Ampersand Foundation.
