Nicholas Cullinan

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Robert Nicholas Cullinan OBE (born 29 December 1977) is an art historian and curator. On 6 January 2015, he was appointed the 12th director of the National Portrait Gallery in London, [1] a post he began several months later. [2] It was announced on 28 March 2024 that he had been appointed Director of the British Museum. [3]

Contents

Early life and education

Cullinan was born in December 1977 in Connecticut, United States, to British parents. He moved to Britain aged 4 or 5 years, and grew up in Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire, England. [4] [5] He was home-schooled. He received his BA, MA, and PhD in art history from The Courtauld Institute of Art in London. Between 2001 and 2003, while a student, he worked as a visitor services assistant at the National Portrait Gallery, where he was later appointed director in 2015. [6]

Personal life

Cullinan's partner is the Belgian art dealer and founder in 2023 of London's Vendelmans gallery, Mattias Vendelmans. He lives in Oval, London, and Margate in Kent. [7] [8]

Career

From 2006 to 2007, he held the Hilla Rebay International Fellowship at Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, and Peggy Guggenheim Collection. [2] From 2007 to 2013 he was curator of international modern art at Tate Modern. [1] He then joined the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City as its curator of modern and contemporary art. [1] In 2014, he co-curated an exhibition of Henri Matisse's cut-outs at Tate Modern with Sir Nicholas Serota. [4] The exhibition attracted more than 500,000 visitors. [9]

Cullinan was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2024 New Year Honours for services to art. [10] He is a director of the Chatsworth House Trust.[ citation needed ]

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References

  1. 1 2 3 Pes, Javier (6 January 2015). "National Portrait Gallery lures Met curator back to London". The Art Newspaper. Retrieved 11 January 2015.
  2. 1 2 "Dr Nicholas Cullinan appointed new director of the National Portrait Gallery, London". National Portrait Gallery. 6 January 2015. Retrieved 11 January 2015.
  3. ↑ Simpson, Craig (28 March 2024). "British Museum appoints new director after thefts scandal". The Telegraph.
  4. 1 2 Brown, Mark (6 January 2015). "National Portrait Gallery appoints Nicholas Cullinan as director". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 January 2015.
  5. ↑ https://www.dunhill.com/gb/dunhill-world/profiles/dr-nicholas-cullinan Accessed 28 March 2024.
  6. ↑ "Dr Nicholas Cullinan returns to run National Portrait Gallery where he worked as student". London Evening Standard. 6 January 2015. Retrieved 11 January 2015.
  7. ↑ https://www.worldofinteriors.com/story/nicholas-cullinan-mattias-vendelmans-house. Accessed 28 March 2024.
  8. ↑ Worcester, Lily (5 October 2017). "My London: Nicholas Cullinan". Evening Standard. Retrieved 29 March 2024.
  9. ↑ Pickford, James (6 January 2015). "Nicholas Cullinan appointed director of National Portrait Gallery". Financial Times. Retrieved 11 January 2015.
  10. ↑ "No. 64269". The London Gazette (Supplement). 30 December 2023. p. N12.
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