Sir Timothy Peter Plint Clifford (born 26 January 1946) is a British

art historian Art history is the study of aesthetic objects and visual expression in historical and stylistic context. Traditionally, the discipline of art history emphasized painting, drawing, sculpture, architecture, ceramics and decorative arts; yet today ...

. Clifford was the director of the

National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland ( gd, Gailearaidhean Nàiseanta na h-Alba) is the executive non-departmental public body that controls the three national galleries of Scotland and two partner galleries, forming one of the National Collections o ...

from 1984 to 2006. He was known for his innovative methods for hanging and displaying art, and for his ability to leverage limited acquisition funds to purchase important works of art.

Career

Positions

*1968–1976, Assistant Keeper, Department of Paintings,

Manchester City Art Gallery Manchester Art Gallery, formerly Manchester City Art Gallery, is a publicly owned art museum on Mosley Street in Manchester city centre. The main gallery premises were built for a learned society in 1823 and today its collection occupies three c ...

. *1976–1978, Assistant Keeper, Department of Prints and Drawings,

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

. *1978–1984, Director, Manchester City Art Galleries. *1984–2006, Director, National Galleries of Scotland.

Innovations

First in

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

and later in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

, Clifford exhibited art as it would once have been displayed in the great houses of England, Scotland, and the Continent. This involved using striking backgrounds, with walls colorfully painted or hung with cloth, and triple-hanging the pictures. Suitable works of art and furniture were added to rooms, to give a sense of period or atmosphere.

Exhibitions

*2003,

Claude Monet Oscar-Claude Monet (, , ; 14 November 1840 – 5 December 1926) was a French painter and founder of impressionist painting who is seen as a key precursor to modernism, especially in his attempts to paint nature as he perceived it. During ...

Bibliography

*Clifford, Timothy, Aidan Weston-Lewis, and Michael Bury. "The Age of Titian: Venetian Renaissance Art From Scottish Collections." Edinburgh: National Galleries of Scotland, 2006. *Clifford, Timothy, John Kenworthy-Brown, and Hugh Honour, "The Three Graces." Edinburgh: National Galleries of Scotland, 1995.

External links

Richard Dorment, "The Museum Man Who Put Scotland On the Map," The Daily Telegraph, 29 November 2005"Monet Display Breaks All Records," BBC News Channel, 27 October 2003
{{DEFAULTSORT:Clifford, Timothy Peter Plint 1946 births Living people British curators British art historians Knights Bachelor