Towry Piper

Born in 1918, Sir David Towry Piper became a leading British museum figure and author. He directed the National Portrait Gallery, later led the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge, and then served as director of the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford.

Alongside his museum work, he wrote widely on art and artists in a clear, accessible style. He is also credited in catalogues and library records as Towry Piper, including on Violin Tone and Violin Makers, a collaboration with Hidalgo Moya.

Piper was recognized for both scholarship and public service, becoming a fellow of major learned societies and receiving a knighthood. He died in 1990, but his writing and museum leadership remain closely linked with the way British art was introduced to modern audiences.