Norman Rosenthal

Norman Rosenthal arrives for the Turner Prize event, 2006.

Sir Norman Rosenthal (born 1944) is a British curator. He was Exhibitions Secretary at the Royal Academy from 1977 until 2008.^[1] His encyclopedic programme of exhibitions which stretched from Egyptian antiquities to recent art production, included the exhibition of Charles Saatchi's collection of contemporary art—Sensation (art exhibition) which showcased many of the YBA artists.

Life and career

Rosenthal was born in Cambridge to refugee parents. He graduated from the University of Leicester with a degree in history and undertook further studies at the School of Slavonic and East European Studies and the Free University of Berlin.^[2]

Rosenthal was first introduced to curating exhibitions at the age of 19 when he co-organized an exhibit entitled Artists in Cornwall at the Museum and Art Gallery as part of the University of Leicester's University Arts Festival. His first serious post was as researcher and librarian at Thomas Agnew & Sons.^[3] As Exhibitions Secretary, he directed many ground breaking and successful exhibitions. Some of his most important works include the exhibition A New Spirit in Painting, which brought to the forefront work by Georg Baselitz and Anselm Kiefer, and a cycle of survey exhibitions of 20th century work that promoted the academy to the first division of exhibition venues. As Exhibitions Secretary, Rosenthal has often courted controversy. His curating of Sensation drew protests from various academicians. After the Royal Academy, Norman worked with Thomas Krens on several projects and with other artists in Moscow and New York City.

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