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Martin Roth, former V&A director, dies aged 62

Thanks to his guardianship and international outlook, the V&A was named museum of the year for 2016

Clarisse Loughrey
Monday 07 August 2017 11:20 BST
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Martin Roth at an event held at the V&A on 25 October 2016
Martin Roth at an event held at the V&A on 25 October 2016

Former V&A director Martin Roth has died aged 62, The Guardian reports.

He served as Director General of the Dresden State Art Collections in his native Germany from 2001 to 2011, before acting as the Director of the Victoria and Albert Museum in London from 2011 to 2016, departing shortly after it won the museum of the year award.

Chairman of the V&A, Nicholas Coleridge, gave tribute to Roth, stating, "Martin will be remembered as a man of prodigious energy, a director with a global reputation both within the museum world and beyond, a committed Europhile and cultural ambassador with a philosophical turn of mind, as well as a devoted husband and father."

Roth was committed to raising the international profile of the V&A, which lead to a record number of 3.8 million visitors, alongside expansions of the museum in China, Dundee, and east London. He also oversaw the opening of restored galleries devoted to European arts and crafts of 1600-1815.

"This, combined with exhibitions such as David Bowie Is, Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty, Disobedient Objects and Engineering the World: Ove Arup, raised the V&A to new heights," Coleridge added. "We will greatly miss Martin, and are profoundly grateful for his considerable contribution to the V&A."

Roth's departure from the museum was hastened by his views on Brexit; born in Stuttgart in 1955, he expressed his feelings to German broadcaster DW as, "For me, Europe is simply synonymous with peace. I didn't want to be a German. I did not want to grow up in a country that had killed a huge part of its population."

"So for me, Europe always gave hope for a peaceful future, based on sharing, solidarity, and tolerance. Dropping out always means creating cultural barriers - and that worries me."

He died in Berlin. German culture minister, Monika Grütters, paid her own respects by stating, "With the passing of Martin Roth, the German and international museum world has lost one of the most prominent but also polemical personalities. He took part in numerous discussions with a strong opinion and enriched these debates. His capacity for enthusiasm was contagious."

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