NICHOLAS PENNY TO BE APPOINTED NEW DIRECTOR OF LONDON’S NATIONAL GALLERY

The Guardian reports that Nicholas Penny, fifty-seven, is expected to be confirmed as the new director of London’s National Gallery following the abrupt departure of his predecessor, Charles Saumarez Smith. A selection panel has submitted its decision to the prime minister, Gordon Brown, who is expected to make a formal announcement next week. Penny, who has spent the last five years in the US working at Washington’s National Gallery, returns to London with a reputation as an insider, having worked at the gallery from 1990 to 2002 as the Clore Curator of Renaissance Painting. He applied for the top job once before, in 2002, but lost out—making his appointment now something of a surprise. “He interviewed extraordinarily well,” said one trustee and member of the interview panel, who declined to be named. “It probably helped that I don’t think anyone is still in place who was around when he was last interviewed for the job. The famous charm was certainly apparent, but his vision for the gallery impressed us all.”

In a related editorial, Jonathan Jones expresses gratitude at Penny’s appointment: “Expect less swank and more substance on Trafalgar Square, and a National Gallery that intellectually dwarfs the louder parts of the London art world.”