(London) The current director of the National Portrait Gallery in London, Nicholas Cullinan, has been appointed director of the British Museum, announced Thursday the institution shaken by the scandal of the theft of 2,000 pieces and the long-term serial of the marbles of the Parthenon.
The previous director Hartwig Fischer, of German nationality and the first non-British to direct the museum, resigned at the end of August 2023 after the revelation of the thefts.
The interim has since been taken over by the former director of the Victoria & Albert Museum Mark Jones.
Nicholas Cullinan, 46, was appointed after unanimous approval from museum trustees and agreement from Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
At the head of the National Portrait Gallery since 2015, he carried out a complete redevelopment of the collections and the museum, whose space open to the public increased by a fifth, according to the press release announcing his appointment.
The art historian has notably been a curator at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and at the Tate Modern in London. He will take up his post at the British Museum this summer.
Nicholas Cullinan praised the “honour” of being the director of “one of the greatest museums in the world”.
He spoke of “a new chapter” which “will encompass the most significant transformations, architectural and intellectual, taking place in any museum in the world, to continue to ensure that the British Museum is as engaged and collaborative as possible”.
Founded in 1753, the British Museum houses a collection of eight million objects, including the Rosetta Stone and the Parthenon friezes, acquired during the colonial era and claimed by Greece.
The institution, which is free to visit, is the UK’s most popular tourist attraction, with 5.8 million visitors in 2023, an increase of 42% compared to the previous year, according to the association of the sector.
The revelation of the large-scale theft scandal led to the dismissal of an employee, who was arrested by the police without any charges being brought against him at this stage.
Since their discovery, the British Museum has said it has recovered just over 350 objects.
The new boss of the museum will also have to implement a major renovation, estimated at more than a billion euros, made necessary by the dilapidated state of certain galleries.