James Donald Milner (20 November 1874 – 15 August 1927) was a British art executive who served as director of the

National Portrait Gallery, London The National Portrait Gallery (NPG) is an art gallery in London housing a collection of portraits of historically important and famous British people. It was arguably the first national public gallery dedicated to portraits in the world when it ...

from 1916 until his death in 1927.

Life

Milner joined the Gallery around 1893, as a Clerk. He learned about English portraits by visiting

country houses An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a town house. This allowed them to spend time in the country and in the city—hence, for these peopl ...

, as assistant to

George Scharf Sir George Scharf KCB (16 December 1820 – 19 April 1895) was a British art critic, illustrator, and director of the National Portrait Gallery. Biography Early years Scharf was born at 3 St Martin's Lane, London, the son of George Jo ...

. His appointment reflected his record as an administrator, his familiarity with the Gallery's traditions, and the acceptability to many of the trustees of his art historical background.

Works

*''Catalogue of portraits of botanists exhibited in the museums of the Royal Botanic Gardens '' (1906) Some portraits by Milner are held by the National Portrait Gallery.

References

1874 births 1927 deaths Directors of the National Portrait Gallery, London Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London English male non-fiction writers {{UK-bio-stub