Sandy Nairne

Alexander Robert Nairne CBE FSA (born 8 June 1953) is a British art historian and curator.

[citation needed] Nairne came into contact with Nicholas Serota, while working at the Museum of Modern Art, Oxford in 1974–76.

[citation needed] After a period as an Assistant Curator at the Tate Gallery (1976–80) - during which he additionally worked on international curation projects such as the Irish biennial EVA International - Nairne was appointed Director of Exhibitions at the Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA), a position he held until 1984 - exhibitions included "Brand New York", Robert Mapplethorpe, Mary Miss, "Women's Images of Men", and "About Time".

[citation needed] Nairne was responsible for the successful recovery of two late J. M. W. Turner paintings, stolen in Germany in 1994, and put back on display at Tate Britain in early 2003.

[7] He was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2011 Birthday Honours for services to the arts.