Robin Nicholson, an accomplished Cambridge art historian and innovative museum leader, joins The James Museum, having led three American art museums in Deputy Director and Executive Director roles since 2006 and most recently as the co-founder of the startup Art Museum Strategies. Nicholson brings extensive insight into leading a non-profit art institution and wide-ranging knowledge from working in the for-profit and gallery worlds. An imaginative strategic thinker, he has been at the forefront of re-envisioning the art museum model by maximizing exhibition planning, fundraising opportunities and public engagement initiatives for near and long-term ambitions. He is committed to the future of art museums and cultural organizations as diverse, equitable and inclusive institutions that reflect the communities they serve. He is committed to examining issues of cultural appropriation, and the interaction of Western and Indigenous artistic visions in the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries and how The James Museum can serve as a platform to ensure Indigenous voices are heard and their stories are told. "I am thrilled to join one of the most innovative museums on the East Coast, if not across North America. Tom and Mary James’ passion for western & wildlife art and their investment in a world-class collection, and a museum that acts as a remarkable and innovative architectural beacon for the city, demonstrates how St. Pete continues to become a cultural hub for Florida," said Robin Nicholson, The James Museum Executive Director. "I look forward to continuing the legacy of Executive Director Laura Hine and her talented staff, the devoted board of trustees, our donors and supporters, and above all, Tom and Mary James and their family to ensure that The James Museum flourishes, grows and expands the horizons of its unique collections." Nicholson, a native of Edinburgh, Scotland, was educated at Queen's University, Ontario, Canada, and the University of Cambridge, England.

With over 30 years in the art and art museum sector and extensive contacts nationally and internationally, I have established with fellow art museum director, Terrie Sultan, Art Museum Strategies @ Hudson Ferris in New York City (https://hudsonferris.com/museums/) . I have extensive experience of strategic planning, ensuring relevancy of the art museum sector, collections planning and evaluation, board relations and development, fundraising in challenging times, DEIA, and team management. We are working with a number of art museums to establish the parameters of a post-pandemic future. As consultants we offer museum clients the unique benefits of two seasoned art museum professionals backed up by the boutique fundraising and administrative services of Hudson Ferris

Executive Director and CEO of the oldest art museum in the South, with three distinctive buildings: two National Landmark structures, the original Telfair Academy, opened in 1883, and the Owens Thomas House and Slave Quarters built in 1819. The iconic contemporary Jepson Center, designed by award-winning architect Moshe Safdie, opened in 2006. The Telfair Museums collection of over 7,000 objects, is rich in American impressionism, post-1945 modernism, and historic decorative arts and furniture.• Leading a unique museum in America with a combination of contemporary and historic buildings, attracting a quarter of a million visitors annually.• Within a year completing a $6 million challenge grant to remove debt from the Jepson Center and position the museum for the future.• Developing the next major strategic plan for the museum to lead it into the mid-21st century.• Positioning the Telfair as a leader in interpreting the troubled history of slavery in the south.• Developing major exhibitions that will ensure continued growth in visitation, membership, and support.

Executive Director of a six acre museum in the heart of Pittsburgh that includes one of the best-preserved Gilded Age mansions in America, a car and carriage museum, and an art museum with exceptional examples of Renaissance to 19th century European paintings and decorative arts, Chinese ceramics, and contemporary art.• Reporting to a board of 30 Trustees, oversaw all aspects of operations of a 28-year old museum with an operating budget of $7 million, an endowment of $75 million, over 120 FT and PT staff, and annual visitation of 125,000.• Completed a $15 million capital campaign (2016) including three new buildings, collections storage, and endowment ($6m raised in first year as director; project finished on schedule and on budget).• Initiated and directed a two-year strategic planning and visioning exercise, resulting in the first comprehensive strategic plan for the museum (Frick 2017-2022 and Beyond)• Initiated an ambitious program of fashion-based exhibitions and programming that delivered record-breaking attendance and raised over $1m in foundation support (the largest non-capital gifts in the Frick’s history).• Secured and oversaw the most successful exhibition in the museum’s history - Van Gogh, Monet, Degas (2018) - with record visitation and $1m in corporate, foundation, and individual sponsorship.

Senior staff member, head of art, education, and exhibitions division, at the premier art museum of the southeast USA (budget: $33m.)• Received direct reports from chief educator, chief curator, director of marketing, director of audience development, director of library and resources, head of exhibitions, and head of statewide partnerships, who in turn managed a total of 80 staff, 50 faculty, and over 300 volunteers in the art and education division, with a combined budget of $8m.• Oversaw exhibition fundraising, significant art acquisitions, new programming and new technologies, and audience development.• Played a key role in two major strategic planning exercises (2010, 2014).• Project-managed several of the most important exhibitions in the museum’s history with multi-million dollar budgets including Picasso (2011), Chihuly (2012), Hollywood Costume (2013) and Forbidden City (2014).• Initiated and managed international collaborations with museums in Canada, UK, France, Italy, and China.• Provided leadership for the artistic and educational mission of the museum.

First head of exhibitions at VMFA, developing a comprehensive program of international exhibitions for a new 12,000 square foot exhibition space. Promoted to oversee all aspects of the museum’s curatorial, exhibition, and educational programs in 2010.

As curator of the Drambuie Collection, Nicholson established one of the most important collections of Scottish and Jacobite art in the country. A catalogue of the collection was published in 1995 and Nicholson authored a scholarly study of the portraiture of Prince Charles Edward Stuart in 2002. The collection toured extensively in the UK and USA between 1995 and 2005. In 2006 the Jacobite collection was transferred on long-term loan to the National Trust for Scotland and the National Galleries of Scotland. In the same year the Scottish collection was deaccessioned at auction through Lyon and Turnbull of Edinburgh/ Freemans of Philadelphia and achieved eleven world records.

Managed the daily operations and exhibition schedule of the Edinburgh gallery of The Fine Art Society