Sir Charles Robert Saumarez Smith CBE is a Senior Director of Blain|Southern, a contemporary gallery with spaces in both London and Berlin. From 2007 to 2018, he was Secretary and Chief Executive of the Royal Academy of Arts. He was Director of The National Gallery from 2002 to 2007, responsible for many major exhibitions, including Titian, Rubens, El Greco, late Caravaggio and Velázquez, and the Director of the National Portrait Gallery from 1994 to 2002. From 1982 to 1994, he worked at the Victoria and Albert Museum, first as an Assistant Keeper and, from 1990, as Head of Research.
A British cultural historian specialising in the history of art, design and architecture, he is known for his contributions as a cultural commentator, an author, lecturer, and academic, with regular appearances on television and radio. He has been a judge for the Stirling Prize for Architecture, the BP Portrait Award, the World Architecture Fair in Singapore and most recently as a member of the Frieze Selection Committee. He is widely sought after for his expertise
