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Charles Saumarez Smith

November 24, 2023

For other people named Saumarez Smith, see Saumarez Smith (disambiguation).

Sir Charles Robert Saumarez Smith CBE (born 28 May 1954) is a British cultural historian specialising in the history of art, design and architecture. He was the Secretary and Chief Executive of the Royal Academy of Arts in London from 2007 until he stepped down in 2018.[1] He was replaced by Axel Rϋger, who took up the position in 2019.[2][3]

Sir Charles Saumarez Smith
Born (1954-05-28) 28 May 1954 (age 69)
Redlynch, Wiltshire, England
Occupation(s)Art historian and museum director
SpouseRomilly Le Quesne Savage
Children2
Websitecharlessaumarezsmith.com/blog

He was previously director of the National Portrait Gallery from 1994 to 2002 and director of the National Gallery from 2002 to 2007. He has published various articles and books, including The Company of Artists:The Origins of the Royal Academy of Arts in London and was a judge at the World Architecture Festival 2014 in Singapore and the Young Masters 2014 awards in London.

Saumarez Smith was knighted in the 2018 Queen's Birthday Honours List.[4]

Biography edit

Charles Saumarez Smith was born in an old rectory in the Wiltshire village of Redlynch, near Salisbury. The son of William Hanbury Saumarez Smith, a former Indian civil servant and the great-grandson of the 19th-century Archbishop of Sydney William Saumarez Smith. His older brother was the London bookseller John Saumarez Smith.

He was educated at Marlborough College, where a Gainsborough portrait belonging to the school first awakened his interest in art.[5] He then studied history and history of art at King's College, Cambridge, gaining a double first, and, following graduation, was awarded a Henry Fellowship to study at the Fogg Art Museum in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He studied for his doctorate under Michael Baxandall at the Warburg Institute, London, and was awarded a PhD in 1986 for his thesis entitled "Charles Howard, 3rd Earl of Carlisle and the architecture of Castle Howard". Meanwhile, he was appointed Christie's Research Fellow in the History of Applied Arts at Christ's College, Cambridge and taught part-time in the Department of Art History and Theory at the University of Essex.

In 1982, Saumarez Smith was appointed by Sir Roy Strong as an Assistant Keeper at the Victoria and Albert Museum, where he helped to establish the V&A/RCA MA Course in the History of Design and was a contributor to The New Museology, published in 1989. In 1990, his PhD thesis was published by Faber and Faber under the title The Building of Castle Howard and was awarded the Alice David Hitchcock medallion. In the same year, he was appointed as Head of Research at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. In 1994, he published a book on 18th century interior design, before becoming director of the National Portrait Gallery. There, he and his staff more than doubled visitor figures by staging exhibitions of contemporary photographers, including Annie Leibovitz, Richard Avedon, Bruce Weber and the fashion photographer Mario Testino. He also presided over the building of an extension to the NPG in 2000, the Ondaatje Wing, designed by Sir Jeremy Dixon and Edward Jones. From 2001 to 2002, Saumarez Smith held the Slade Professorship at the University of Oxford, where he lectured on "The State of the Museum".[6]

Saumarez Smith was a candidate to be Director at the V&A and the British Museum[5] before becoming the director of the National Gallery in 2002. The main success of his directorship was the purchase of Raphael's Madonna of the Pinks in 2004 for £22 million, raised by a successful public appeal. However, few other major acquisitions were made by the National Gallery under Saumarez Smith due to the inflated prices commanded for Old Master paintings. He was a vocal critic of Tony Blair's government for giving too little money towards museum funding, and for not creating tax incentives for potential donors to museums.[7]

2006 saw the opening of a new ground-floor entrance hall at the National Gallery, designed, like the Ondaatje Wing, by Dixon Jones architects. This project was already begun under Saumarez Smith's predecessor Neil MacGregor. In 2007, news broke of a power struggle between Peter Scott, head of the Gallery's board of trustees, and the director.[8] At the same, time it became known that Saumarez Smith was applying for the newly created post of Secretary and Chief Executive at the Royal Academy. He resigned from the National Gallery on 26 July 2007 and was succeeded by Martin Wyld, head conservator at the Gallery, as acting director, until Nicholas Penny was appointed permanent director in the spring of 2008.[9]

In his time at the Royal Academy, Saumarez Smith was responsible for restoring the Keeper's House to its former glory and the development of plans for 6 Burlington Gardens, a Grade II*-listed building designed by Sir James Pennethorne immediately north of the Royal Academy, including the appointment of the architect Sir David Chipperfield. In the lead-up to the RA's 250th anniversary in 2018, Saumarez Smith oversaw annual fund-raising, revenue funding for the RA, and capital fund-raising for the capital project, which included a successful application to the Heritage Lottery Fund for a grant of £12.7 million. He presided over the exhibition programme including Anish Kapoor, Bronze, Sensing Spaces, Anselm Kiefer and the 2012 blockbuster David Hockney, the Bigger Picture which was the most visited exhibition of that year in the UK.[10] In 2014 Saumarez Smith appointed White Cube exhibition curator and broadcaster Tim Marlow as the first Director of Artistic Programmes.[11]

Saumarez Smith is a former Visiting Professor at Queen Mary, University of London,[12] a Trustee of Charleston and the Royal Drawing School, an enthusiastic blogger, and in the past an occasional panellist on the BBC's Newsnight Review. He was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2008 New Year Honours.

In 2019 Saumarez Smith became the first Professor of Architectural History at the Royal Academy.[13]

Bibliography edit

  • The Art Museum in Modern Times. Thames & Hudson (2021)
  • East London. Thames & Hudson (2017)
  • New Annals of The Club. Pony Club (2014)
  • The Company of Artists: The Origins of the Royal Academy of Arts in London. Bloomsbury / Modern Art Press (2012)
  • The National Gallery: A Short History. Frances Lincoln (2009)
  • The National Portrait Gallery. National Portrait Gallery Publications (1997)
  • The Rise of Design: Design and Domestic Interior in Eighteenth-century England. Pimlico; New edition (2000)
  • Eighteenth-Century Decoration. Design and the Domestic Interior in England. Weidenfeld & Nicolson (1993)
  • The Building of Castle Howard. Faber & Faber (1990)

Saumarez Smith has contributed to biographies on Quentin Bell and Philip McCammon Core to the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.

Portraits edit

There are thirteen portraits of Saumarez Smith in the National Portrait Gallery Collection[14] including two photographs by Mario Testino and an oil painting by Tom Phillips. A 2010 painting by Royal Academician Leonard McComb exists.[15]

References edit

  1. ^ "Charles Saumarez Smith steps down from Royal Academy".
  2. ^ "Axel Rűger Appointed as New Secretary and Chief Executive of the Royal Academy of Arts" (PDF). Royal Academy of Arts. 13 February 2019.
  3. ^ Brown, Mark (13 February 2019). "Axel Rüger leaves van Gogh behind to head Royal Academy". The Guardian.
  4. ^ "Page B1 | Supplement 62310, 9 June 2018 | London Gazette | the Gazette".
  5. ^ a b Maev Kennedy, Dandy in the Gallery. The Guardian, 23 February 2003. Accessed 15 June 2007
  6. ^ Further particulars: Slade Professorship of Fine Art. Accessed 5 September 2007
  7. ^ Martin Gayford, Wanted – National Gallery Chief to Muster Cash. Bloomberg.com, 23 April 2007. Accessed 9 September 2007
  8. ^ John Walsh, Charles Saumarez Smith: Fine art dandy 24 May 2007 at the Wayback Machine. The Independent 31 March 2007. Accessed 15 June 2007
  9. ^ Martin Bailey, National Gallery faces worst acquisitions crisis in over a century. The Art Newspaper, 2 July 2007. Accessed 3 July 2007
  10. ^ Tracy McVeigh. "David Hockney mania as crowds hail 'wonderful' new landscape show | Art and design". The Guardian. Retrieved 30 April 2016.
  11. ^ Mark Brown. "Royal Academy puts Tim Marlow in charge of exhibitions | Art and design". The Guardian. Retrieved 30 April 2016.
  12. ^ Queen Mary announces appointment of Charles Saumarez Smith as Visiting Professor 27 March 2008 at the Wayback Machine (Press release.) Accessed 15 June 2007
  13. ^ "Sir Charles Saumarez Smith, Artist, Royal Academy of Arts". www.royalacademy.org.uk.
  14. ^ "Charles Robert Saumarez Smith - Person - National Portrait Gallery". Npg.org.uk. Retrieved 30 April 2016.
  15. ^ . Therp.co.uk. Archived from the original on 4 June 2012. Retrieved 30 April 2016.

External links edit

Academic offices
Preceded by Slade Professor of Fine Art,
University of Oxford
2001–2002 		Succeeded by

November 24, 2023
charles, saumarez, smith, other, people, named, saumarez, smith, saumarez, smith, disambiguation, charles, robert, saumarez, smith, born, 1954, british, cultural, historian, specialising, history, design, architecture, secretary, chief, executive, royal, acade. For other people named Saumarez Smith see Saumarez Smith disambiguation Sir Charles Robert Saumarez Smith CBE born 28 May 1954 is a British cultural historian specialising in the history of art design and architecture He was the Secretary and Chief Executive of the Royal Academy of Arts in London from 2007 until he stepped down in 2018 1 He was replaced by Axel Ryger who took up the position in 2019 2 3 Sir Charles Saumarez SmithBorn 1954 05 28 28 May 1954 age 69 Redlynch Wiltshire EnglandOccupation s Art historian and museum directorSpouseRomilly Le Quesne SavageChildren2Websitecharlessaumarezsmith wbr com wbr blogHe was previously director of the National Portrait Gallery from 1994 to 2002 and director of the National Gallery from 2002 to 2007 He has published various articles and books including The Company of Artists The Origins of the Royal Academy of Arts in London and was a judge at the World Architecture Festival 2014 in Singapore and the Young Masters 2014 awards in London Saumarez Smith was knighted in the 2018 Queen s Birthday Honours List 4 Contents 1 Biography 2 Bibliography 3 Portraits 4 References 5 External linksBiography editCharles Saumarez Smith was born in an old rectory in the Wiltshire village of Redlynch near Salisbury The son of William Hanbury Saumarez Smith a former Indian civil servant and the great grandson of the 19th century Archbishop of Sydney William Saumarez Smith His older brother was the London bookseller John Saumarez Smith He was educated at Marlborough College where a Gainsborough portrait belonging to the school first awakened his interest in art 5 He then studied history and history of art at King s College Cambridge gaining a double first and following graduation was awarded a Henry Fellowship to study at the Fogg Art Museum in Cambridge Massachusetts He studied for his doctorate under Michael Baxandall at the Warburg Institute London and was awarded a PhD in 1986 for his thesis entitled Charles Howard 3rd Earl of Carlisle and the architecture of Castle Howard Meanwhile he was appointed Christie s Research Fellow in the History of Applied Arts at Christ s College Cambridge and taught part time in the Department of Art History and Theory at the University of Essex In 1982 Saumarez Smith was appointed by Sir Roy Strong as an Assistant Keeper at the Victoria and Albert Museum where he helped to establish the V amp A RCA MA Course in the History of Design and was a contributor to The New Museology published in 1989 In 1990 his PhD thesis was published by Faber and Faber under the title The Building of Castle Howard and was awarded the Alice David Hitchcock medallion In the same year he was appointed as Head of Research at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London In 1994 he published a book on 18th century interior design before becoming director of the National Portrait Gallery There he and his staff more than doubled visitor figures by staging exhibitions of contemporary photographers including Annie Leibovitz Richard Avedon Bruce Weber and the fashion photographer Mario Testino He also presided over the building of an extension to the NPG in 2000 the Ondaatje Wing designed by Sir Jeremy Dixon and Edward Jones From 2001 to 2002 Saumarez Smith held the Slade Professorship at the University of Oxford where he lectured on The State of the Museum 6 Saumarez Smith was a candidate to be Director at the V amp A and the British Museum 5 before becoming the director of the National Gallery in 2002 The main success of his directorship was the purchase of Raphael s Madonna of the Pinks in 2004 for 22 million raised by a successful public appeal However few other major acquisitions were made by the National Gallery under Saumarez Smith due to the inflated prices commanded for Old Master paintings He was a vocal critic of Tony Blair s government for giving too little money towards museum funding and for not creating tax incentives for potential donors to museums 7 2006 saw the opening of a new ground floor entrance hall at the National Gallery designed like the Ondaatje Wing by Dixon Jones architects This project was already begun under Saumarez Smith s predecessor Neil MacGregor In 2007 news broke of a power struggle between Peter Scott head of the Gallery s board of trustees and the director 8 At the same time it became known that Saumarez Smith was applying for the newly created post of Secretary and Chief Executive at the Royal Academy He resigned from the National Gallery on 26 July 2007 and was succeeded by Martin Wyld head conservator at the Gallery as acting director until Nicholas Penny was appointed permanent director in the spring of 2008 9 In his time at the Royal Academy Saumarez Smith was responsible for restoring the Keeper s House to its former glory and the development of plans for 6 Burlington Gardens a Grade II listed building designed by Sir James Pennethorne immediately north of the Royal Academy including the appointment of the architect Sir David Chipperfield In the lead up to the RA s 250th anniversary in 2018 Saumarez Smith oversaw annual fund raising revenue funding for the RA and capital fund raising for the capital project which included a successful application to the Heritage Lottery Fund for a grant of 12 7 million He presided over the exhibition programme including Anish Kapoor Bronze Sensing Spaces Anselm Kiefer and the 2012 blockbuster David Hockney the Bigger Picture which was the most visited exhibition of that year in the UK 10 In 2014 Saumarez Smith appointed White Cube exhibition curator and broadcaster Tim Marlow as the first Director of Artistic Programmes 11 Saumarez Smith is a former Visiting Professor at Queen Mary University of London 12 a Trustee of Charleston and the Royal Drawing School an enthusiastic blogger and in the past an occasional panellist on the BBC s Newsnight Review He was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire CBE in the 2008 New Year Honours In 2019 Saumarez Smith became the first Professor of Architectural History at the Royal Academy 13 Bibliography editThe Art Museum in Modern Times Thames amp Hudson 2021 East London Thames amp Hudson 2017 New Annals of The Club Pony Club 2014 The Company of Artists The Origins of the Royal Academy of Arts in London Bloomsbury Modern Art Press 2012 The National Gallery A Short History Frances Lincoln 2009 The National Portrait Gallery National Portrait Gallery Publications 1997 The Rise of Design Design and Domestic Interior in Eighteenth century England Pimlico New edition 2000 Eighteenth Century Decoration Design and the Domestic Interior in England Weidenfeld amp Nicolson 1993 The Building of Castle Howard Faber amp Faber 1990 Saumarez Smith has contributed to biographies on Quentin Bell and Philip McCammon Core to the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography Portraits editThere are thirteen portraits of Saumarez Smith in the National Portrait Gallery Collection 14 including two photographs by Mario Testino and an oil painting by Tom Phillips A 2010 painting by Royal Academician Leonard McComb exists 15 References edit Charles Saumarez Smith steps down from Royal Academy Axel Ruger Appointed as New Secretary and Chief Executive of the Royal Academy of Arts PDF Royal Academy of Arts 13 February 2019 Brown Mark 13 February 2019 Axel Ruger leaves van Gogh behind to head Royal Academy The Guardian Page B1 Supplement 62310 9 June 2018 London Gazette the Gazette a b Maev Kennedy Dandy in the Gallery The Guardian 23 February 2003 Accessed 15 June 2007 Further particulars Slade Professorship of Fine Art Accessed 5 September 2007 Martin Gayford Wanted National Gallery Chief to Muster Cash Bloomberg com 23 April 2007 Accessed 9 September 2007 John Walsh Charles Saumarez Smith Fine art dandy Archived 24 May 2007 at the Wayback Machine The Independent 31 March 2007 Accessed 15 June 2007 Martin Bailey National Gallery faces worst acquisitions crisis in over a century The Art Newspaper 2 July 2007 Accessed 3 July 2007 Tracy McVeigh David Hockney mania as crowds hail wonderful new landscape show Art and design The Guardian Retrieved 30 April 2016 Mark Brown Royal Academy puts Tim Marlow in charge of exhibitions Art and design The Guardian Retrieved 30 April 2016 Queen Mary announces appointment of Charles Saumarez Smith as Visiting Professor Archived 27 March 2008 at the Wayback Machine Press release Accessed 15 June 2007 Sir Charles Saumarez Smith Artist Royal Academy of Arts www royalacademy org uk Charles Robert Saumarez Smith Person National Portrait Gallery Npg org uk Retrieved 30 April 2016 Leonard McComb RA Hon RP The Royal Society of Portrait Painters Therp co uk Archived from the original on 4 June 2012 Retrieved 30 April 2016 External links editOfficial website Portraits of Charles Saumarez Smith at the National Portrait Gallery London nbsp Academic officesPreceded byDonald Preziosi Slade Professor of Fine Art University of Oxford2001 2002 Succeeded byErnst van de Wetering Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Charles Saumarez Smith amp oldid 1161148818, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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