Minutes of a meeting of the Board held on Thursday 30 March 2023
Present
Sir John Kingman KCB FRS (Chair for items 1-9)
John Booth (Chair) (for items 10-16)
Diana Berry
Catherine Goodman LVO
Katrin Henkel
James Lambert OBE
Rosemary Leith
David Marks
Dounia Nadar
Rosalind Nashashibi
Tonya Nelson
Professor Molly Stevens FRS
Apologies
Stuart Roden
In attendance
Dr Gabriele Finaldi - Director
Paul Gray - Chief Operating Officer
Victoria Hayes - Secretary to the Board and Head of Governance (Minutes)
Andy Hibbert - Director of Finance and Resources
Jane Knowles - Interim Director of Public Engagement
Julie Molloy - Managing Director of National Gallery Global Ltd
Anh Nguyen - Director of Development
Christine Riding - Director of Collections and Research
Larry Keith - Head of Conservation and Keeper (for items 1 and 9)
Francesca Whitlum-Cooper - Acting Curator of Later Italian, Spanish and 17th-century French Paintings (for item 1)
Charlotte Newton - Customer Experience and Operations Manager (for item 8)
Steve Vandyke - Head of Buildings and Facilities (for item 8)
Agnieszka Drewniak-Kim - Fire, Health, Safety and Risk Manager (for item 9)
Patrick O’Connor - Head of Art Handling (for item 9)
1. Pictures for treatment
1.1. The Head of Conservation and Keeper showed the Board a painting from the workshop of Dirk Bouts, 'The Virgin and Child with Saint Peter and Saint Paul' (NG774), Marco Basaiti's 'The Virgin and Child' (NG2499), David Teniers the Younger’s, 'A Cottage by a River with a Distant View of a Castle' (NG861), and a painting by an Associate of Jan Cornelisz. Vermeyen’s, 'Portrait of a Man (Alfonso de Valdés)' (NG2607), all of which, following treatment, the Board approved as being ready to go back on display.
1.2. Trustees were shown Peter Paul Rubens’s, 'The Judgement of Paris' (NG194), Jan van de Capelle's, 'A Dutch Yacht Firing a Salute as a Barge pulls away, and Many Small Vessels at Anchor' (NG965) and Cornelius Johnson's, 'Portrait of a Lady' (NG6280), for each of which, Trustees had examination reports. The Board approved the treatments proposed.
1.3. For information, Trustees were shown Baldassare Peruzzi’s, 'The Nativity', (M980) from the Ulster Museum, Belfast which is being restored and Bernardo Cavallino’s 'Saint Bartholomew' (M69), which the Gallery had purchased in January, and which was being re-framed in preparation for going on display.
1.4. Information has been excluded under s.22, s.36 and s.43 FOI 2000
In the Boardroom, the Chairman being absent, one of the Deputy Chairs took the chair. He welcomed Rosalind Nashashibi to her first Board meeting and congratulated the Director of Collections and Research on her recent appointment.
2. Declarations of interest
2.1. There were no declarations of interest.
3. Minutes of the meeting held on 2 February 2023 and matters arising
3.1. The Minutes were approved.
3.2. The actions are ongoing or complete.
4. Loans out paper
4.1. The Director of Collections and Research presented the loans out paper, which was approved.
5. Information has been excluded under s.22, s.36 and s.43 FOI 2000
5.1-5.2. Information has been excluded under s.22, s.36 and s.43 FOI 2000
6. Director's report
6.1. The Director gave his presentation.
6.1.1. He highlighted the success of the Articulation programme and said that he had adjudicated the Final in the Gallery earlier in the week which had been very impressive.
6.2. At a ceremonial 'ground breaking' event earlier in the month he said that he had formally handed the Sainsbury Wing over to the contractors who would be starting construction work imminently.
6.3. He said that the opening for Nalini Malani’s 'My Reality is Different' exhibition had been a success and was followed later in the week by a display on the large billboard at Piccadilly Circus.
6.4. The Director and Chairman had welcomed the newly appointed Secretary of State to the Gallery on her first visit to a museum as a minister.
6.5. The Director reported that the Portico Shop had reopened following refurbishment.
7. Information has been excluded under s.22, s.36 and s.43 FOI 2000
7.1. Information has been excluded under s.22, s.36 and s.43 FOI 2000
8. Presentation of Sustainability Policy
8.1. The Customer Experience and Operations Manager and the Head of Buildings and Facilities joined the meeting and gave a presentation. The Chair, on behalf of the Board welcomed the work that has been done and asked about the Gallery’s ambition in relation to targets. The Customer Experience and Operations Manager said that targets would be set and proposed to the Board in due course.
8.2. The Board approved the policy and proposals.
9. Presentation on Fire Strategy
9.1. The Fire, Health, Safety and Risk Manager, the Head of Art Handling and the Head of Conservation and Keeper joined the meeting. The Chair said that as a result of a request coming from the Audit Committee, he had received the presentation and thought it would be useful for the Board to understand what measures were in place. The Head of Art Handling gave a presentation and answered questions. The Board felt reassured by the measures in place and the Gallery’s relationship with the London Fire Brigade.
The Chairman joined the meeting and took the Chair.
10. Presentation of National Gallery 3-year plan
10.1. The Director of Finance and Resources presented the plan which had been approved by the Finance Committee earlier in the month. The Board endorsed the plan.
11. Management Accounts and Development Report
11.1. The Director of Finance and Resources presented the Accounts.
11.2. The Director of Development presented the Development Report.
12. Annual presentation of funds held in National Gallery Trust (NGT)/NGT Foundation (NGTF)/American Friends of the National Gallery (AFNGL)
12.1. The Director of Finance and Resources presented the paper, which was noted.
13. Update on NG200 Welcome
13.1. The Chair of the Masterplan Committee presented the paper and said that the contractors had settled well onsite and formed a good relationship with the Gallery.
14. Report from the Managing Director of National Gallery Global Ltd
14.1. The Managing Director of National Gallery Global Ltd presented her report.
15. Committees of the Board and others reporting since the last Board meeting
15.1. The Board noted the Minutes of Finance Committee held on 7 March.
15.2. The Board noted the Minutes of the Audit Committee held on 7 March.
15.3. The Board noted the Minutes of the Ethics Committee held on 7 March.
15.4. The Chair of the Bicentenary Board held on 21 March gave a verbal update.
15.5. The Chair of the Nominations Committee held on 27 March gave a verbal update.
16. Any other business
None.