Neil MacGregor

Robert Neil MacGregor, OM, AO ( born June 16, 1946 in Glasgow ) is a British art historian and museum director.

MacGregor studied French and German at New College, Oxford University, Philosophy at the École Normale Supérieure in Paris, and law at the University of Edinburgh. He then completed a degree in art history at the Courtauld Institute of Art, University of London.

After several years as a lecturer in art history and architecture at the University of Reading and at the Courtauld Institute of Art, he joined in 1981 the editorship of the Burlington Magazine, a scientific journal for art and decoration, which he held until 1987. In the same year he became director of the National Gallery in London. Since 2002 he is Director of the British Museum. In 2008 he was voted " Britain of the Year", In 2010 he received the first ever International Folkwang Prize, which is awarded by the Museums Association of the Museum Folkwang in Essen.

Awareness beyond the scientific audience became MacGregor through collaborations with the BBC 2000 series Seeing Salvation was broadcast about Jesus images in Western art history, 2010, he presented on Radio 4 and the World Service, the series A History of the World in 100 Objects, which on German A history of the World was published as a book with the title in 100 objects. This book was awarded the Knowledge Book of 2012.

Writings (selection )

• A victim of anonymity. The master of the Saint Bartholomew Altarpiece. Thames and Hudsonm, London 1993. ISBN 0-500-55026-3.
• Seeing salvation. Images of Christ in art. BBC, London, 2000. ISBN 0-563-55111-9.
• A History of the World in 100 Objects, Beck, Munich 2011, ISBN 978-3-406-62147-5.
• Shakespeare's Restless World. London 2012. ISBN 978-1-846-14675-6 German by Klaus Binder: Shakespeare's Restless World, Beck, Munich, 2013, ISBN 978-3-406-65287-5.