My colleague Geoff Pickup, who has died aged 71, was responsible for the design of many notable galleries and temporary exhibitions during his 38 years as a designer at the British Museum.
His work involved the 3D design and project management of exhibitions in the museum at Bloomsbury, and at the Museum of Mankind at Burlington Gardens, in close liaison with curators, editors, graphic designers and contractors.
Of 22 temporary exhibitions in which he was involved, the most memorable at Bloomsbury were: The Golden Age of Venetian Glass (1979), Süleyman the Magnificent (1988) and The Making of England: Anglo Saxon Art and Culture (1991). He visited India to research the setting for the 1984 Museum of Mankind exhibition Vasna: Inside an Indian Village, one of a series of immersive exhibitions.
Born in Wembley, north-west London, Geoff was the third of four sons of Mary (nee Jackson), who had been a building society clerk before marriage, and Frank Pickup, a shipping manager. After Frank’s retirement the family moved to Broxbourne, Hertfordshire, and Geoff was educated at Cheshunt grammar school. He then went to the UCL Bartlett School of Architecture in London, gaining a first in 1973.
After initial employment as an architectural assistant at several firms, Geoff applied for a position as assistant 3D designer in the design office of the British Museum, Bloomsbury, in 1975. I was head of design at that time, and selected him at interview.
His initial project was to work with me on the design of the Nomad and City exhibition, the first immersive exhibition at the Museum of Mankind. We also worked together again on a further exhibition there, Captain Cook in the South Seas, which opened in 1979.
The remit of the design office expanded in the 1980s to cover responsibility for the public face of the museum: publicity material, public spaces and galleries. Geoff’s talents were also then directed to the design of 14 galleries at the British Museum, including Korea: The Korean Foundation Gallery, The Sainsbury Galleries: Africa, and The Wellcome Trust Gallery: Living and Dying. When the museum’s policy changed in 2006 from an in-house design facility to out-sourcing, Geoff managed a further 18 projects.
He had infinite patience and dedication, closely studying the objects in context, paying particular attention to lighting, spending hours on small adjustments to achieve the right results. His skills inspired many younger designers.
On retirement in 2013 he formed a small museum consultancy. In addition to lecturing, participating in museum design workshops and courses in the UK and abroad, he was lead consultant for a new gallery at the Museum of Pre-Columbian Art in Santiago, Chile, which opened in 2014.
Although a very private man, Geoff had many friends and contacts. He was an energetic exhibition visitor with wide interests in architecture, modern prints and ceramics, and loved chamber music, frequently visiting the Wigmore Hall in London. He was a loyal, generous friend and colleague.
Geoff is survived by his brothers, Roy, John and David, five nieces and three nephews.
