Alexander Robert Nairne is a British art historian and curator. From 2002 to February 2015 he was the director of the National Portrait Gallery, London.
Occupation
historian, writer, art historian, exhibition curator
Alexander Robert "Sandy" Nairne (born 8 June 1953) is a British art historian and curator. From 2002 until February 2015 he was the director of the National Portrait Gallery, London.
Life and career
Nairne is the son of senior civil servant Sir Patrick Nairne, attended Radley College and studied at University College, Oxford in the early 1970s and rowed for the Oxford University second crew Isis.
Nairne came into contact with Nicholas Serota, while working at the Museum of Modern Art, Oxford in 1974–76.
After a period as an Assistant Curator at the Tate Gallery (1976–80) - during which he additionally worked on international curation projects such as the Irish biennial EVA International - Nairne was appointed Director of Exhibitions at the Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA), a position he held until 1984 - exhibitions included "Brand New York," Robert Mapplethorpe, Mary Miss, "Women's Images of Men," and "About Time."
