The National Gallery, London

The National Gallery in London has appointed the general counsel (GC) of the Science Museum as its new head of legal.

Richard Barnett, who has been the GC for the Science Museum Group since 2016, will take on the role in mid-November, the institution confirmed.

Barnett previously trained at Eversheds Sutherland, before working at IP specialist Hansel Henson, according to his LinkedIn profile.

The new role will see Barnett reporting to the gallery's director, Gabriele Finaldi, on legal issues affecting the institution as well as acting as the gallery's data protection officer, according to a job description released by the gallery earlier this year.

He was the first GC at the Science Museum Group, and the museum is subsequently advertising for a replacement on LinkedIn.

Barnett takes over from the former legal counsel and secretary, Kate Howe, who left the National Gallery last week to pursue academic studies outside of law.

Howe worked at the institution for more than 12 years, initially as secretary to the board and then additionally as the National Gallery's first in-house legal counsel.

She was involved in the joint purchase with the National Galleries of Scotland of two of Titian's great masterpieces, Diana and Actaeon and Diana and Callisto; the purchase from the US of Bellow's Men of the Docks; and more recently the purchase of the gallery's first work by Artemisia Gentileschi.

Titian, 'Diana & Actaeon' (Image: Wikimedia Commons)

Howe also assisted in commissioning the artwork Messengers, by Bridget Riley, which is painted directly onto the walls of the gallery.

Howe told Legal Week that it had been "an extraordinarily interesting role and a privilege for any lawyer to have the opportunity to work inside one of the country's great cultural institutions".

Earlier this year, the Natural History Museum advertised for its first head of legal, with interviews set to take place this month.

This week, the World Wildlife Fund UK also started its search for a new GC, following the departure of former GC Andrew Napier.