{{Short description|British museum director}} {{Use British English|date=December 2012}} {{Use dmy dates|date=July 2020}} {{Listen |filename = Sandy Nairne voice.ogg |title = Nairne's voice |type = speech |description = recorded 2012, as part of an audio description of St Paul's Cathedral for VocalEyes }} '''Alexander Robert Nairne''' {{post-nominals|country=GBR|CBE|FSA}} (born 8 June 1953) is a British art historian and curator. From 2002 to February 2015 he was the director of the National Portrait Gallery, London.<ref name="countrylife">{{Cite journal|author=Jeremy Musson|title=Interview: Sandy Nairne|url=http://www.countrylife.co.uk/culture/fineart/article/252432/Interview-Sandy-Nairne.html|journal=Country Life|date=17 April 2008|accessdate=23 December 2010|archivedate=13 December 2012|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20121213205016/http://www.countrylife.co.uk/culture/fineart/article/252432/Interview-Sandy-Nairne.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>
==Life and career== Nairne was responsible for the successful recovery of two late J. M. W. Turner paintings, stolen in Germany in 1994, and put back on display at Tate Britain in early 2003.<ref>{{cite news|title=How the Tate found its Turners|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/this_world/4414120.stm|work=BBC News|access-date=5 August 2011|date=8 November 2005|first1=Egmont R|last1=Koch|first2=Nina|last2=Svensson|archive-date=12 January 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090112082307/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/this_world/4414120.stm|url-status=live}}</ref> He negotiated secretly for eight years on behalf of the Tate to get the two paintings back. His experience is chronicled in his 2011 book, ''Art Theft and the Case of the Stolen Turners''.<ref>{{cite news|title=My life as an undercover negotiator|last=Bailey|first= Martin|date=9 August 2011|work=The Art Newspaper|issue=226}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Nairne|first= Sandy|title=Art Theft and the Case of the Stolen Turners|url=https://archive.org/details/arttheftcaseofst0000nair|url-access=registration|year=2011|publisher=Reaktion Books|location=Clerkenwell, London|isbn=978-1780230207}}</ref>
Nairne became director of the National Portrait Gallery in London in 2002.<ref>{{cite web|accessdate=2018-11-18|title=Sandy Nairne Appointed Director of the NPG|url=https://www.culture24.org.uk/places-to-go/london/art13116|website=Culture24}}</ref> In June 2014, he announced his resignation which took effect in early 2015.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2014/jun/12/national-portrait-gallery-director-sandy-nairne-leave-early-2015|title=National Portrait Gallery director Sandy Nairne to leave job early next year|author=Maev Kennedy|work=The Guardian|date=12 June 2014|accessdate=14 June 2014}}</ref> He was succeeded by Nicholas Cullinan.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/student-assistant-returns-to-run-national-portrait-gallery-9960320.html|title=Dr Nicholas Cullinan returns to run National Portrait Gallery where he worked as student|date=6 January 2015|work=London Evening Standard|accessdate=6 June 2015}}</ref>
He was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2011 Birthday Honours for services to the arts.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=59808|date=11 June 2011|page=8|supp=y}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Main list of the 2011 Queen's birthday honours recipients|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/bsp/hi/pdfs/11_06_11honours_mainlist.pdf|publisher=BBC News UK|access-date=11 June 2011}}</ref>
Nairne was among those appointed in January 2015 to the Bank of England's Banknote Character Advisory Committee, whose first task would be to decide who should appear on the next £20 banknote.<ref>{{cite web|title=Membership of the Banknote Character Advisory Committee|url=http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/publications/Pages/news/2015/026.aspx|publisher=Bank of England|accessdate=6 June 2015}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== *{{Citation|title=Wikipedia under the microscope over accuracy |work=The Independent |url=http://news.independent.co.uk/media/article345103.ece|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060619182844/http://news.independent.co.uk/media/article345103.ece |archive-date=19 June 2006 }} *{{Citation|title=Portrait of Nairne by Tom Miller in the collection of the National Portrait Gallery |publisher=National Portrait Gallery |url=http://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/portrait.php?search=ap&npgno=x126057}}
{{National Portrait Gallery directors}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Nairne, Sandy}} Category:1953 births Category:Living people Category:People educated at Radley College Category:Alumni of University College, Oxford Category:English curators Category:English male non-fiction writers Category:English book editors Category:Directors of the National Portrait Gallery, London Category:People associated with the Tate galleries Category:Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Category:Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London Category:20th-century English historians Category:21st-century English historians