LONDON.- The Board of Trustees of the National Gallery announced that they have appointed John Booth as Chair.

He will take over from Sir John Kingman, who has been interim Chair since Lord Hall of Birkenhead stood down from the role in May 2021.

John originally joined the National Gallery Board in February 2021 as liaison Trustee of the Tate Gallery, where he served as Deputy Chair. He was appointed a National Gallery Trustee by the Prime Minister in August 2021.

John Booth is an entrepreneur and philanthropist who chairs The Prince’s Trust and a number of public and private companies including Maintel plc and the London Theatre Company.

Speaking of his appointment, John said ‘I’m delighted to take up this role as the National Gallery prepares to celebrate its 200th anniversary in 2024. The Gallery’s amazing collection, including so many of the world’s greatest paintings, belongs to the whole nation and we look forward to sharing it afresh with visitors as we emerge from the pandemic, and as we continue to grow our international digital presence.’

National Gallery interim Chair Sir John Kingman commented ‘The National Gallery Trustees are delighted that John will be our next Chair, leading the Board as we work towards making a reality of our vision to mark the Gallery’s forthcoming Bicentenary in 2024.’

National Gallery Director, Dr Gabriele Finaldi, added ‘All of us at the National Gallery are immensely looking forward to working closely with John Booth. He becomes our Chair of Trustees as we develop our plans for the Gallery Bicentenary in 2024 and brings a wealth of experience and skill to enable us to realize them for the benefit of the public.’

John Booth’s first term as Chair will last until 2025 when he will be eligible to serve a further term, subject to the Prime Minister’s consideration at the appropriate time of any reappointment as a trustee.

John Booth is an entrepreneur and philanthropist who chairs a number of public and private companies including Maintel plc and the London Theatre Company. He also serves as a non-executive director of several investment management businesses and has venture capital interests in e-commerce, media and telecommunications.

He chairs The Prince’s Trust and Pallant House Gallery and is a trustee of the Chatsworth Settlement and the Arts Foundation.

John read Modern Languages at Oxford University where he is a Fellow of Merton College. He is an ambassador for the homelessness charity Depaul International, a Deputy Lieutenant for West Sussex and sits on the Honours Committee.

The National Gallery Board consists at any one time of 12 to 14 Trustees, all of whom are appointed by the Prime Minister through open competition under the public appointments process, save for one, who is appointed by the Board of Tate. The Trustees are required by The Museums and Galleries Act 1992 to appoint one of their number to be Chair.