In the wake of the British Museum’s recent slew of controversies, its recently installed director, Nicholas Cullinan, former boss of London’s National Portrait Gallery (NPG), has promised change.
“I’m going to lead the biggest transformation of any museum in the world,” Cullinan, who started in June and succeeds interim director Mark Jones, told The Times. Aside from salvaging the museum’s reputation, his job includes overseeing a $1.3 billion masterplan involving a digital expansion and renovating its 3,500 rooms and galleries.
The British Museum launched an independent review of security in 2023 after 2,000 or so items were stolen from its collection. The museum is suing its former curator, Peter Higgs, who it blames for the thefts. He was axed in July of last year as a result; he denies any involvement in the crime. Former museum director Hartwig Fischer resigned the following month, admitting that the institution “did not respond as comprehensively as it should have” to the thefts. The stolen objects included gold jewelry, gems, and ancient glass, many of which have since been recovered.
Cullinan said the case has now been closed: “Lessons have been learnt and clear action taken. The decision to digitize the whole collection, all eight million items, is obviously a big part of that.”
The museum’s controversies did not end there. In late 2023, the British Museum’s trustees—chaired by the ex-UK chancellor of the exchequer George Osborne—accepted a $65 million donation from oil giant BP. The move sparked fierce criticism from campaigners, who said the museum was “astonishingly out of touch.”
Cullinan, who oversaw a $55 million refurbishment of the NPG, severed his former institution’s ties with BP. It doesn’t look like he’ll wield the axe again in his new role.
[There are] two criteria against which you weigh up donations,” he told The Times. “One is: will accepting it cause us reputational damage? I think you have to have very good, clear reasons for turning down money that would help to keep the British Museum free to the public. Free admissions is one big reason why I have stayed in this country. It makes our museums very special.”
Cullinan added: “That said, it doesn’t mean museums should be constantly thinking about how to earn income and be as self-sufficient as possible. But they already are doing that. Most museums are funded primarily by themselves, not the taxpayer.”
