Victoria Siddall, a former executive at the global fair company Frieze, has been tapped to lead the National Portrait Gallery in London. She was chosen by the museum’s board, whose appointment was approved by the Prime Minister, and will begin in her post this fall.
Siddall, who will be the storied 168-year-old museum’s 13th director and its first female leader, is a somewhat unusual choice to run one of the United Kingdom’s top arts institutions, as she has never worked as a curator or administrator in a museum before. The NPG reopened last year after a $53 million refurbishment.
In a statement, David Ross, the NPG’s chairman, said, “[Siddall’s] strengths as a cultural leader are considerable, as is her knowledge of the art world, understanding of audiences and international profile. I know that she has the vision and determination to build on our recent successes and lead the next stage of the Gallery’s development, and I greatly look forward to working with her.”
She is best known for her tenure at Frieze’s art fair arm, where she worked for 18 years. She was hired in 2004, shortly after the fair’s first edition, as head of development and would ultimately rise to global director. During her tenure, the company launched four additional fairs in New York, Los Angeles, and Seoul, as well as Frieze Masters across the way in Regent’s Park. She continues to serve as a non-executive director of Frieze, working in an advisory and ambassadorial capacity.
In addition to her work at Frieze, Siddall also cofounded the Gallery Climate Coalition in 2020, which has more than 1,100 members who have all pledged to cut their carbon emissions by 50 percent by 2030. Earlier this year, she became founding director of Murmur, which launched with £1 million in funds to distribute to arts and music organizations for environment-related projects.
Siddall has also served on a number of boards in the UK. Prior to being appointed director, she served on the NPG’s board from July 2023 to August 2024. She jointed Studio Voltaire’s board in 2012 and was elected chair in 2014, during which time she organized a capital redevelopment campaign to support the organization’s reopening in 2021. She is also a strategic adviser to the director and trustees of Tate.
“I’m truly honoured to have the opportunity to lead the National Portrait Gallery, a museum that holds the world’s greatest collection of portraits and is unique in being about people and for people,” Siddall said in a statement. “The art within its walls tells stories of human achievement and what unites us as a society, inspiring and shaping our view of the world and our place in it.”
