Tate gets its first female boss

THE most powerful figure in British art was named yesterday as a yoga-loving motherof-two with a penchant for martinis and quirky shoes.

Maria Balshaw was announced as the new director of Tate, becoming the first woman to hold the role.

She will replace Nicholas Serota, who last year declared that Brexit would ‘diminish’ art spaces. Tate, a family of four galleries in London, Liverpool and Cornwall, would not confirm Miss Balshaw’s salary yesterday but it is believed to be significantly lower than her predecessor.

Sir Nicholas earned more than £165,000 in 2015, making him one of the most highly paid figures in the public sector.

Miss Balshaw, who has been head of the Whitworth gallery in Manchester since 2006, said she was ‘tremendously excited’ by her new role. Under her directorship one project involved visitors wearing white coats and screaming at the top of their lungs. A recently qualified yoga teacher, Miss Balshaw posted a picture on Christmas Day of a pair of golden brogues – which appear to be a gift from her husband.

Her Twitter feed also reveals that she enjoys gin martinis, Elton John and making jam. Miss Balshaw was made a CBE in 2015, and currently lives in a £480,000 house in Manchester with husband Nick Merriman, the director of the Manchester Museum.

She has two teenage children with exhusband Liam Kennedy, a history and politics professor at Queen’s University Belfast.