Walking through the freshly repainted halls of Tim Knox’s swanky new digs that overlook his perfectly kept garden, I sat down with the recently in-post Director to discuss his history with museums and the future of one of Cambridge’s most beloved institutions. 

“I’ve been in this sort of business for quite a while, but the Fitzwilliam is a new departure for me in the sense that it’s a ‘proper museum’. It’s rather like the British Museum in that it has Greek, Roman and Egyptian art, Old Master, ceramics and coins. It even has an armoury! 

My background is that I’m actually an architectural historian and moved on from that to the National Trust, arguably one of the greatest collections in the world. Both of these experiences taught me how to work with the whole picture, everything from the carpets to the painting itself and how they all connected to one another. Then I moved to the Sloane Museum, a national museum and a historical house of massive significance. It has 12 [William] Hogarth paintings, an Egyptian sarcophagus and lots of complete rubbish that Sloane collected too! Coming to the Fitzwilliam is something completely different. It’s a completely different scale. There’s about 100 staff here, it’s very refreshing and I’m enjoying it hugely!”

But what does a new Director signal for the historical institute?

“One thing I’d love to do is reemphasise the great Founder’s Building and the Portico. We’re just about to do some great building works on that which will totally restore the building to its former glory. We’re hoping to make it a triumphant entrance to the museum. 

After that there’s lots to do. We’ve run out of room and we’re a landlocked site so we’ve got to think about making our collection more accessible. We’ve got masses of things in store that deserve to be shared. I’m also really looking forward to working with all the other university museums."

How have you found it coming into a place with such strong university connections?

"Cambridge have the great minds of the world convening here, which is constantly refreshed by the new influx of students. I think the museum has a really important role in changing people and in getting them interested and involved in art and history. I’d like students of both Cambridge and Anglia Ruskin to feel that they owned the museum and that it was a part of their time here. It’s a very exciting time for me and the Fitzwilliam Museum. More and more I’m reminded by the taste, the breadth and the discrimination – in the best sense – that went into forming this collection. It’s a magnificent thing! I’m really happy to be here!"