Neil MacGregor. © Trustees of the British Museum
The Director of the British Museum has had his decision to reject overtures from New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art rewarded after a national newspaper named him Briton of the Year.
The Times hailed Neil MacGregor “a saint” for turning the institution, which was £5 million in debt when he arrived six years ago, into one of the country’s top attractions with a collection admired across the world.
The museum welcomed a record number of more than six million visitors during the year to last March, and MacGregor was strongly rumoured to have been approached by suitors from the Big Apple in July. Representatives from the museum admitted that “a conversation” took place, but MacGregor insisted he was one of many figures consulted as part of the process to replace the retiring Philippe de Montebello.
“The opportunities and challenges for a world collection in London are limitless,” he responded, after committing to his role for at least a further four years. “I think they’re probably greater in London than anywhere in the world, because of the composition of London, but also because of the composition of the collections.”
In a gushing appraisal of his tenure, The Times’ Chief Art Critic Rachel Campbell-Johnston described MacGregor as “a committed idealist who, in a world in which culture is increasingly presented as the acceptable face of politics, has pioneered a broader, more open, more peaceable way forward.”
Campbell-Johnston cited his acquisition of works from historically tricky locations – including China, Iraq and Iran – as symbols of the 62-year-old’s “charm and enthusiasm”. Charles Saumarez-Smith, who took over from MacGregor after he left his previous role at The National Gallery, also lauded his predecessor as “one of the most able, intelligent and intellectually supportive people I have ever known, with an extraordinary ability to get on with people of all sorts”.
Speaking in 2007, MacGregor told Time Magazine he wanted to make the venue “a place where the world can tell its histories, to allow the whole world to think about its oneness and how it interconnects.”
“I don’t think Neil would want to respond directly,” said a spokesperson for the British Museum, denoting MacGregor’s customary modesty. “But obviously it’s great for the museum and a real recognition of the work of the whole institution with Neil at the helm.”
