AN influential Tory is calling for the resignation of Tate director Sir Nicholas Serota. Harlow MP Robert Halfon, a member of the Commons Public Administration Select Committee, thinks Serota, who has been in charge of the quango for 25 years, has been there “far too long” and believes that it is high time the Tate was given fresh leadership.
In tomorrow’s Radio 4 programme What is the Point of the Tate?, Halfon argues that “Sir Nicholas gives proof to the old adage that a quangocrat is not just for Christmas but for life. The Tate is a wonderful cultural icon for our country but that doesn’t mean particular individuals need to be in their place for such a long period of time.”
Serota, 67, was appointed to the role a quarter of a century ago by Margaret Thatcher and is often credited as the man who saved the Tate, although fringe voices such as those of the Stuckists accuse him of having sewn up the art world. While it is highly unusual for a government body to be led by one person for so long, a spokesman for the Department for Culture tells me: “Nick Serota runs one of the UK’s most successful cultural organisations which attracted more than 7.7 million visitors in 2012, and as with all our gallery directors, has our support.”
Asked on the Radio 4 show if he himself thought it might be time to go, Sir Nicholas joked: “I’ve not yet scored a century.”
