In conversation with Martin Caiger-Smith.
How does a Gallery founded in a Victorian Age of Empire, to celebrate the achievements of the great and good of the nation, move forward with the times? How does it maintain a balance between history and art, past and future, a national remit and an international outlook? Highlighting the connections between our past and the nation we are becoming, Nicholas Cullinan argues that ‘at a time when identity, shared culture and civic values are increasingly relevant to us all, the National Portrait Gallery is uniquely placed to generate a discussion by reflecting on our common artistic, cultural and social history – in short what binds us together.’
Nicholas Cullinan took up his position as the Director of the National Portrait Gallery in spring 2015 following his role as Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Prior to this, from 2007 to 2013, Nicholas was Curator of International Modern Art at Tate Modern where he co-curated an exhibition of Henri Matisse’s cut-outs at Tate Modern with Sir Nicholas Serota in 2014. Nicholas received his BA, MA and PhD in art history from the Courtauld Institute of Art in London and in 2006–7 he held the Hilla Rebay International Fellowship at the Guggenheim museums in Bilbao, New York and Venice.
Advance booking will be required for all Facing the Future lectures due the capacity of our lecture theatre. Priority will be given for Friends of The Courtauld.
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