William Edward Gompertz (born 25 August 1965) was the
BBC's arts editor before moving to a position as the
Barbican Centre’s Artistic Director from 1 June 2021.
Gompertz attended
Dulwich Preparatory School, in
Cranbrook, Kent.
Gompertz was previously director of
Tate Media, and appeared in a show at the
Edinburgh Fringe in 2009 called ''Double Art History''. Gompertz has written extensively for ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers '' The Observer'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the ...
'' and ''
The Times
''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' ( ...
'' newspapers. He is the author of ''What Are You Looking At?: 150 Years of Modern Art in the Blink of an Eye'' and ''Think Like an Artist''.
He is the son of
general practitioner Hugh Gompertz
OBE and a second cousin of Simon Gompertz, the personal finance correspondent to BBC News.
Will Gompertz: "We're brought up to be intimidated by art"
''The Observer'' 25 July 2010 Retrieved 29 March 2011 He was born in Tenterden
Tenterden is a town in the borough of Ashford in Kent, England. It stands on the edge of the remnant forest the Weald, overlooking the valley of the River Rother. It was a member of the Cinque Ports Confederation. Its riverside today is ...
, Kent
Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...
, and attended Bedford School
:''Bedford School is not to be confused with Bedford Girls' School, Bedford High School, Bedford Modern School, Old Bedford School in Bedford, Texas or Bedford Academy in Bedford, Nova Scotia.''
Bedford School is a public school (English ind ...
. He did not take any A-levels.
Gompertz married Kate Anderson (daughter of Sir Eric Anderson) in 1993 and they have three sons and one daughter.
References
External links
*
BBC blog
Living people
1965 births
People from Ashford, Kent
BBC newsreaders and journalists
British male journalists
People educated at Bedford School
English people of German descent
British people of German descent
British art critics
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