The British Museum was the first public national museum in the world, so in some ways, it’s kind of the museum. It has always been free, something that was very deliberate when it was founded in 1753 – it had to be for the benefit of all persons. Over the past almost three centuries – 272 years – the collection has grown and grown. Now it’s probably the greatest in the world.
I first visited when I was four years old. My family had just moved back from America – my parents were British but I was born in the US – which was quite a big upheaval. We stayed in one of those little hotels on Gower Street and my mum brought me to the British Museum. I remember seeing the mummies, of course, which a lot of children make a beeline for, but also just feeling this sense of solace and belonging in a world that was changing. I could see that I had a place in the world and that there was a bigger one around me as well. Since then, like a lot of people, I’ve come very regularly.
The south façade of the British Museum © Sam Wright
Nicholas Cullinan by the colonnade at the British Museum’s south entrance © Sam Wright
Egyptian sarcophagi in the Roxie Walker Galleries © Sam Wright
