He succeeds David Barrie, who stepped down at the end of May after 17 years. Andrew Macdonald, who joined the Art Fund in 2006 as deputy director, is currently acting director.
Dr Deuchar was appointed to the Tate in 1998 after 12 years as a curator and exhibitions director at the National Maritime Museum. He led the campaign to secure Rubens’s Sketch for the Banqueting House Ceiling last year.
