ARTFEED — Contemporary Art Intelligence

Elizabeth Peyton portrait of Nicholas Cullinan donated to National Portrait Gallery

exhibition · 2026-06-30

A portrait of British Museum director Nicholas Cullinan by American artist Elizabeth Peyton has been installed at the National Portrait Gallery in London, where Cullinan served as director from 2015 to 2024. The painting, titled 'Nick at home (London), 2025,' was donated by Peyton and is now on permanent display in Room 30. Peyton and Cullinan developed a close friendship during the artist's 2019-2020 retrospective 'Elizabeth Peyton: Aire and Angels' at the NPG. Alongside the portrait hangs a Kaye Donachie painting of fashion designer Erdem, also donated. Cullinan praised the pairing on Instagram.

Key facts

  • Nicholas Cullinan is director of the British Museum.
  • Elizabeth Peyton painted the portrait titled 'Nick at home (London), 2025'.
  • Cullinan was director of the National Portrait Gallery from 2015 to 2024.
  • Peyton donated the work to the NPG.
  • The portrait is on permanent display in Room 30.
  • Peyton's retrospective 'Elizabeth Peyton: Aire and Angels' was held at the NPG in 2019-2020.
  • A Kaye Donachie portrait of fashion designer Erdem is displayed alongside.
  • Cullinan commented on Instagram about the pairing.

Entities

Artists

Institutions

Locations

  • London
  • United Kingdom
  • Paris
  • New York
  • Tokyo
  • Rome
  • Beijing
  • Kyoto

Sources