By Tessa Nolan
After witnessing the transformation of the National Portrait Gallery, he will need to draw on that experience in his new role. Nicholas Cullinan, who has been appointed as the new director of the British Museum, emerged as the frontrunner for the job due to his reputation in the art world as an energetic leader.
Having served as the director of the National Portrait Gallery (NPG) since 2015, the 46-year-old art historian and curator oversaw the institution’s most ambitious revamp in history, a £41.3 million reconstruction and rehanging of its collection.
He also played a crucial role in ensuring that Joshua Reynolds’ portrait of Mai (Omai), described as “one of the most important, influential portraits in the history of British art,” remained accessible to the public. This experience impressed the board of trustees at the British Museum, as reflected in chairman George Osborne’s tribute to Cullinan when his appointment was announced: “He has demonstrated his ability as director of the National Portrait Gallery to oversee both a major physical refurbishment and a compelling refresh of purpose in such a way as not to take sides, but bring people together – and has won universal acclaim.”
In his new role, Cullinan will need to utilize his fundraising skills to oversee an ambitious masterplan, a 10-year project estimated to cost £1 billion, to modernize the museum’s building in Bloomsbury, central London, and redisplay the entire collection. When his appointment was announced, Cullinan stated, “This will involve some of the most significant transformations, both architectural and intellectual, happening in any museum around the world, to continue to make the British Museum the most engaged and inclusive.”
He will also have to navigate the controversy surrounding the museum’s ongoing partnership with oil company BP, which has sparked numerous loud protests. At NPG, he ended a similar sponsorship deal with BP, but the institution later faced criticism from climate activists after announcing a similar deal with Herbert Smith Freehills, a law firm with ties to the oil industry.
Cullinan was born in Connecticut but raised in Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire. He studied art history at the prestigious Courtauld Institute of Art in London. His first role at NPG was as a visitor services assistant, guiding people through exhibits, discussing portraits, and working at the information desk.