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| British Museum director Neil MacGregor to step down | British Museum director Neil MacGregor to step down |
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| Neil MacGregor is to step down as director of the British Museum at the end of the year. | Neil MacGregor is to step down as director of the British Museum at the end of the year. |
| MacGregor, one of the most respected museum leaders in the world, broke the news at an emotional staff meeting on Wednesday morning, telling about 200 people that his 13 years at the museum had been “the greatest privilege of my professional life”. | MacGregor, one of the most respected museum leaders in the world, broke the news at an emotional staff meeting on Wednesday morning, telling about 200 people that his 13 years at the museum had been “the greatest privilege of my professional life”. |
| The announcement had been on the cards for some time, not least because MacGregor is 68. The £135m transformation of the museum that he has overseen, bringing a new conservation and exhibitions centre, is also now complete. | The announcement had been on the cards for some time, not least because MacGregor is 68. The £135m transformation of the museum that he has overseen, bringing a new conservation and exhibitions centre, is also now complete. |
| Related: Neil MacGregor saved the British Museum. It’s time to reinvent it again | Related: Neil MacGregor saved the British Museum. It’s time to reinvent it again |
| MacGregor said he planned to retire from full-time employment, but would have a number of prominent part-time jobs, including a new series on faith for BBC radio and chairing a committee advising on one of Germany’s most important cultural projects, the Humboldt-Forum arts complex. Contrary to some reports, he will not become director. | MacGregor said he planned to retire from full-time employment, but would have a number of prominent part-time jobs, including a new series on faith for BBC radio and chairing a committee advising on one of Germany’s most important cultural projects, the Humboldt-Forum arts complex. Contrary to some reports, he will not become director. |
| The time felt right to go, said MacGregor, although leaving was “a very difficult thing”. | The time felt right to go, said MacGregor, although leaving was “a very difficult thing”. |
| He added: “The new building has been completed, so we at last have proper exhibition space, new conservation and scientific facilities, and first-class accommodation for our growing research activities. We have built strong partnerships with fellow museums across the UK, and are rapidly expanding our programme of loans and training around the world. The museum is now ready to embark on a new phase.” | He added: “The new building has been completed, so we at last have proper exhibition space, new conservation and scientific facilities, and first-class accommodation for our growing research activities. We have built strong partnerships with fellow museums across the UK, and are rapidly expanding our programme of loans and training around the world. The museum is now ready to embark on a new phase.” |
| MacGregor is a familiar TV face and radio voice, far better known than any of his predecessors. One of his most popular series was A History of the World in 100 Objects on Radio 4 in 2010. | MacGregor is a familiar TV face and radio voice, far better known than any of his predecessors. One of his most popular series was A History of the World in 100 Objects on Radio 4 in 2010. |
| Few people would be surprised if the BBC were to announce MacGregor as the new presenter of its proposed remake of Civilisation, although he denied having any conversations about it when asked in an interview in December. | Few people would be surprised if the BBC were to announce MacGregor as the new presenter of its proposed remake of Civilisation, although he denied having any conversations about it when asked in an interview in December. |
| Before he joined the British Museum, MacGregor was in charge of the National Gallery, where he presided over the Sainsbury wing extension and earned the nickname Saint Neil among staff – partly because of his Christianity, but also because of his popularity and heavenly touch. | Before he joined the British Museum, MacGregor was in charge of the National Gallery, where he presided over the Sainsbury wing extension and earned the nickname Saint Neil among staff – partly because of his Christianity, but also because of his popularity and heavenly touch. |
| Related: A History of the World in 100 Objects by Neil MacGregor - review | Related: A History of the World in 100 Objects by Neil MacGregor - review |
| MacGregor, who is from Glasgow, will go down as one of the greatest directors the 263-year-old British Museum has had. He has overseen a golden period, introducing innovation and dynamism and, perhaps above all, relevance into what was a somewhat old-fashioned institution. Visitor numbers have increased from 4.6m in 2002-03 to 6.7m in 2014-15, making it the second-most visited museum in the world after the Louvre in Paris. | MacGregor, who is from Glasgow, will go down as one of the greatest directors the 263-year-old British Museum has had. He has overseen a golden period, introducing innovation and dynamism and, perhaps above all, relevance into what was a somewhat old-fashioned institution. Visitor numbers have increased from 4.6m in 2002-03 to 6.7m in 2014-15, making it the second-most visited museum in the world after the Louvre in Paris. |
| He has championed the British Museum as a “world museum” and steadfastly refused Greek pressure for the Parthenon Marbles to be returned. | He has championed the British Museum as a “world museum” and steadfastly refused Greek pressure for the Parthenon Marbles to be returned. |
| MacGregor makes no secret of his passion for Germany and was the driving force behind the museum’s show last year, Germany: Memories of a Nation, which was accompanied by a Radio 4 series. | MacGregor makes no secret of his passion for Germany and was the driving force behind the museum’s show last year, Germany: Memories of a Nation, which was accompanied by a Radio 4 series. |
| He was vigorously courted by the German government to be the man in charge of the Humboldt-Forum, an arts complex being constructed in Berlin. Instead, he will chair a committee that will make recommendations to the German culture minister, Monika Grütters, “on how the Humboldt-Forum, drawing on the outstanding resources of the Berlin collections, can become a place where different narratives of world cultures can be explored and debated”. | He was vigorously courted by the German government to be the man in charge of the Humboldt-Forum, an arts complex being constructed in Berlin. Instead, he will chair a committee that will make recommendations to the German culture minister, Monika Grütters, “on how the Humboldt-Forum, drawing on the outstanding resources of the Berlin collections, can become a place where different narratives of world cultures can be explored and debated”. |
| Grütters said: “I am immensely grateful and more than happy that Neil MacGregor, with his wide-ranging experience of world cultures and his deep knowledge of Germany, will support us in making our most ambitious cultural project happen. | Grütters said: “I am immensely grateful and more than happy that Neil MacGregor, with his wide-ranging experience of world cultures and his deep knowledge of Germany, will support us in making our most ambitious cultural project happen. |
| Related: British Museum director Neil MacGregor must be saved for the nation | Charlotte Higgins | Related: British Museum director Neil MacGregor must be saved for the nation | Charlotte Higgins |
| “I am convinced that with his skill in presenting global narratives and his persuasive powers and determination, he will help shape the Humboldt-Forum as a successful institution with an ambitious programme that best serves the public in Berlin, Germany and internationally.” | “I am convinced that with his skill in presenting global narratives and his persuasive powers and determination, he will help shape the Humboldt-Forum as a successful institution with an ambitious programme that best serves the public in Berlin, Germany and internationally.” |
| MacGregor will also consult on another “presentation of world cultures” project in Mumbai. | MacGregor will also consult on another “presentation of world cultures” project in Mumbai. |
| The museum plans to employ headhunters to help find a new director. His departure is another sign of the guards being being changed in the top echelons of Britain’s major museums and galleries, with Gabriele Finaldi replacing Nicholas Penny at the National Gallery and Nicholas Cullinan replacing Sandy Nairne at the National Portrait Gallery. | |
| Sir Nicholas Serota paid tribute. “Neil MacGregor has led two national museums with distinction over a period of nearly 30 years. His achievements at the National Gallery have been matchless. His leadership has enhanced the standing of all museums and their place in contemporary British life.” | |
| The artist Grayson Perry tweeted: “Sad that Neil Macgregor is stepping down at the BM. He is brilliant, a sharp diplomat and most importantly a lovely man.” | The artist Grayson Perry tweeted: “Sad that Neil Macgregor is stepping down at the BM. He is brilliant, a sharp diplomat and most importantly a lovely man.” |
| The chair of the British Museum’s trustees, Sir Richard Lambert, said MacGregor had been “an outstanding director of the British Museum and has made an extraordinary contribution to public life in the UK and beyond”. | The chair of the British Museum’s trustees, Sir Richard Lambert, said MacGregor had been “an outstanding director of the British Museum and has made an extraordinary contribution to public life in the UK and beyond”. |
| He added: “The trustees are hugely grateful for everything he has done to bring the collection to life, and to tell its many different stories. We respect his decision to move on, and want to support him in his new projects.” | He added: “The trustees are hugely grateful for everything he has done to bring the collection to life, and to tell its many different stories. We respect his decision to move on, and want to support him in his new projects.” |
| MacGregor, who turned down a knighthood in 1999, will be a difficult act to follow. The artist Sir Antony Gormley, writing in the Evening Standard, called MacGregor “the spokesperson for the silent throng of things made by the human hand, heart and brain over all time. | MacGregor, who turned down a knighthood in 1999, will be a difficult act to follow. The artist Sir Antony Gormley, writing in the Evening Standard, called MacGregor “the spokesperson for the silent throng of things made by the human hand, heart and brain over all time. |
| “Like no other before him, he has helped us see, empathise and interpret the huge diversity of humanly made things, allowing us to understand what they are and the world from which they come.” | “Like no other before him, he has helped us see, empathise and interpret the huge diversity of humanly made things, allowing us to understand what they are and the world from which they come.” |
| As a young man, MacGregor read history of art at the Courtauld Institute where his tutor, the spy Anthony Blunt, called him “the most brilliant student I have ever taught”. Before the National Gallery he edited the Burlington Magazine. | As a young man, MacGregor read history of art at the Courtauld Institute where his tutor, the spy Anthony Blunt, called him “the most brilliant student I have ever taught”. Before the National Gallery he edited the Burlington Magazine. |