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Article: Old masters don't just grow on trees, you know Charles Saumarez Smith, the new director of the National Gallery, has a puzzle to solve, says Martin Gayford. How to buy art without any money
- Article from:
- The Independent on Sunday (London, England)
- Article date:
- November 3, 2002
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 2002 The Independent on Sunday. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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"One of the things I've been completely overwhelmed by is the
sheer number of visitors," says the National Gallery's new director
Charles Saumarez Smith. "The foyer is quite similar in feeling to our
local supermarket. It's very, very crowded, with an amazingly diverse
audience."
To reach that foyer Saumarez Smith, 48, has not had to walk far.
For eight years he was director of the National Portrait Gallery,
just around the corner.
The National Gallery is one of the plum jobs in the museum world.
But what will he do with it? Indeed, what remains to be done. He
takes over from the successful Neil MacGregor, who has moved over to
tackle the British Museum. Life in Trafalgar Square is likely ...