Former Victoria and Albert Museum director Martin Roth dies aged 62
The first German to head a major British museum left the V&A last year, "disillusioned" by the Brexit referendum.
Monday 7 August 2017 14:49, UK
Dr Martin Roth, former director of the Victoria And Albert museum, has died at the age of 62.
Roth was head of the V&A for five years, from 2011 to 2016, and was the first German to run a major British museum.
He was remembered on Monday as a "committed Europhile", after he attributed Brexit as one of the reasons for leaving the London attraction.
"We are extremely saddened to hear that Dr Martin Roth has died," said V&A chairman Nicolas Coleridge.
"Martin will be remembered as a man of prodigious energy; a director with a global reputation both within the museum world and beyond; a committed Europhile and cultural ambassador with a philosophical turn of mind, as well as a devoted husband and father."
Roth left in the autumn of 2016, to devote his time to "various international cultural consultancies", after taking the Brexit vote as a "personal defeat".
He was praised for "raising the international profile of the museum" with large scale exhibitions like David Bowie Is, and Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty.
He was also credited for taking the V&A to the Venice Biennale and founding its research unit.
His time in charge the London museum is widely regarded as a success, with visitor numbers reaching record numbers and being named the 2016 Art Fund Museum Of The Year.
During the Brexit debate, he made his thoughts heard, saying he despised the "war rhetoric" being used.
In an interview with The Guardian, he said: "What happened to tolerance, solidarity and charity?
"And I'm not a dreamer. I'm just talking about basic values - manners that are part of our upbringing and connect us. Where are they now?
"A 'me-first' mentality has suddenly started to spread - and it is brutal."