Patrons and Trustees

Nina Williams (née Gabo) Patron

Nina Williams, with her mother, took on the responsibility of looking after the work of her father, sculptor Naum Gabo, after his death in 1977. She married Graham Williams in 1982 and together they continue to look after Gabo's work. Nina Williams served for twenty years as a Trustee before becoming Patron of the Gabo Trust.

Derek Pullen, Patron

Derek Pullen helped to establish the sculpture conservation section at the Tate Gallery, having trained as a sculptor at the Royal College of Art. He has published and lectured on the materials and techniques of modern and contemporary sculptors including Naum Gabo. While continuing as a conservation manager at Tate, he is also a board member of the Public Monuments and Sculpture Association and the International Network for the Conservation of Contemporary Art.

Graham Williams, Patron

Graham Williams set up the the Gabo Trust in 1988 on behalf of Miriam Gabo, widow of Naum Gabo and the Trust's first Patron. After a career in advertising and publishing, Graham Williams went his own way as an artist in 1972, making limited edition books, original prints, and for the last twenty years, sculpture. He is a member of the Royal British Society of Sculptors. For more information about his work click here.

Ann Elliott, Chairman of the Trustees

Ann Elliott is a curator, who organises exhibitions and manages a portfolio of visual arts projects. Her clients are wide ranging, and include private collectors, the corporate sector, museums and galleries, local authorities and cultural organisations. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. In addition to her work for the Gabo Trust, Ann Elliott is a Board Member of ArtPoint, a Trustee of Ironbridge Open Air Museum of Steel Sculpture, and is on the Fabric Committee of Portsmouth Cathedral.

Jackie Heuman, Trustee

Jackie Heuman is co-director of SculpCons Ltd. She has been an accredited conservator since 1999. Her interests include the conservation of contemporary materials and technical art history. She has published widely on the conservation of modern sculpture and has edited two catalogues on the subject. Jackie Heuman is a member of The Institute of Conservation (ICON), International Institute of Conservation (IIC), American Institute of Conservation (AIC) and International Council of Museums (ICOM).

Gareth Williams, Trustee

Gareth Williams is a curator and writer about design with 18 years experience as a curator of furniture at the Victoria and Albert Museum. Now he is a Senior Tutor of Design Products at the Royal College of Art. His research interests range from exploring the construction of mass-markets for design and charting the technological advances in the design-led industries, to examining the representation of new design practices in museums. Gareth has curated numerous exhibitions of design, including 'Telling Tales, Fantasy and Fear in Contemporary Design' (V & A 2009), and has published and lectured widely.

Sandra Smith, Trustee

Sandra Smith was trained at The Institute of Archaeology, London, in Archaeological Conservation and Material Science. After a brief period working as an on-site conservator in Syria and with the Central Excavation Unit, English Heritage she joined the Department of Conservation at the British Museum, specialising in ceramics and glass conservation but also working on-site on excavations. In 1992 she became Head of the Ceramics and Glass Section and was promoted to Head of the Inorganics Group in 1997, having responsibility for the conservation of metal, ceramics, glass, stone, mosiacs and wallpaintings in the collection and the management of the Facsimile Service. In 2003 Sandra Smith joined the V & A as Head of Conservation.

Sandra has taken an active role in the development of the conservation profession as the Co-Ordinator of the Ceramics and Glass working group of ICOM-CC, participating in working groups within ICON to develop career opportunities and education strategies in conservation. She is the Senior Judge of the Nigel Williams Award and was Treasurer of IIC for three years.