Meet Nicholas Cullinan, the British Museum’s new bigwig

By day, he welcomes the Princess of Wales for royal visits. At night, he walks red carpets in black tie with his best friend Courtney Love, who calls him her soul mate and “family for life.” At the same time, he will be able to tell you the provenance of a Roman cameo glass amphora dating from the 1st century, then tell you about his love for mean girls. Nicholas Cullinan is undoubtedly a modern Renaissance man, but he has much more to say.

The art historian and curator studied at the Courtauld Institute in London and later earned his stripes at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Tate Modern before rising to the top job at the National Portrait Gallery in London in 2015. During his tenure, he led a three-year, $53 million renovation, the first comprehensive update of the NPG since 1896. And he gained many fans along the way, through acquisitions keys such as the 1776 painting by Joshua Reynolds. Portrait of May (Omai)one of the most important paintings in British art depicting a person of color, and his dedication to doing the right thing: he turned down a $1.3 million donation from the Sacklers.

Nicholas Cullinan and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge in 2019 at the National Portrait Gallery in London.

At the British Museum, the board of trustees took note. A series of scandals, like the one in which they discovered that a veteran curator had stolen more than 1,800 antiquities and sold them on eBay, had left the world’s oldest national public museum without a competent leader. He found one at Cullinan; he was appointed director of the grand dame’s institution in March, just months after King Charles awarded him an OBE.

In his new position, Cullinan inherits 271 years of art history and a trove of some 8 million objects, more than five times the number in the Met’s permanent collection. He also inherits less glamorous things, like a leaky roof, outdated infrastructure and crumbling buildings, meaning it’s now up to him to raise the colossal $1.3 billion needed to renovate so much. expected from the British Museum. And then there is the ongoing case of the Elgin Marbles. Since 2021, Greece has been demanding the return of these ancient treasures that once adorned the Parthenon. No solution has yet been found, but we think Cullinan’s track record offers some promising clues.

This story appears in the October 2024 issue of Town and country. REGISTER NOW

Leena Kim is an editor at Town and countrywhere she covers travel, jewelry, education, weddings and culture.