National Gallery appoints curator to develop modern collection

The National Gallery has announced that PATRICK ELLIOTT will take on the newly-created role of curator of modern paintings as it extends its collection of post-1900 painting.

Elliott will join the London gallery at the end of March after 36 years at the National Galleries of Scotland (NGS), where he worked as chief curator of modern and contemporary art.

The position has been created as part of the gallery’s largest transformation since its formation in 1824, Project Domani, which will see the collection extended beyond 1900 and a new wing built.

Elliott will guide the extension through acquisitions, institutional exchanges, particularly with Tate galleries, gifts and long-term loans.

While at NGS, Elliott oversaw retrospective exhibitions of artists including Alberto Giacometti and René Magritte and contemporary shows of works by the likes of Tracey Emin and Rachel Whiteread.

He also helped with major acquisitions, including two major collections of Surrealist art and a rare early Cubist collage by Pablo Picasso.

Describing the appointment as a “privilege”, Elliott said he had visited the National Gallery “hundreds of times”.

“I love Old Master painting, so this is hallowed ground to me, the one gallery I always return to,” he said.

“I am very conscious of the need to collect the very best: modern paintings can hold their own in a gallery full of Rembrandts and Titians. It’s an exciting challenge.”

National Gallery director Sir GABRIELE FINALDI said Elliott would bring “a wealth of experience, networks and knowledge to the position”.

“I look forward to working with him in this new chapter in the history of the gallery,” he added.