The STaTe hermiTage muSeum annual reporT

hermItaGe frIenDs orGanIzatIons
foundaTion hermiTage friendS in The neTherlandS
For the Dutch Friends, the year 2010 was again a very successful
year. The number of members was again growing
to a record of 5,500 at the end of the year. Also, the Catherine
Circle and the Peter Circle proved to be successful and
growing.
All the Friends received three newsletters during the year.
The Friends’ Newsletter contains information on the Hermitage
• Amsterdam Centre, the current exhibition and
of course the information about the State Hermitage Museum
and the update on various projects sponsored by the
Friends. Apart from that, there are special Friends-only offers
for trips, theatre and ballet performances, and special
lectures.
A special day was organized for the Friends for the opening
of the two exhibitions in the Hermitage • Amsterdam:
on 5 March for the Matisse to Malevich exhibition, and on
15 September for the Alexander the Great exhibition. Both
days were visited by c. 1,500 guests. They enjoyed the exhibition
and listened to introductions given by the Hermitage
• Amsterdam exhibition department.
In 2010 the Dutch Friends supported various projects,
both in Amsterdam and in St. Petersburg. For the Matisse
to Malevich exhibition in Amsterdam, the Dutch Friends
addreSS:
Foundation Hermitage Friends
in the Netherlands
P.O. Box 11675,
1001 GR amsterdam
the Netherlands
tel.: (31) 20 530 87 55
Fax: (31) 20 530 87 58
Email: vrienden@hermitage.nl
www.hermitage.nl
sponsored the production of the multimedia presentation
on the collections and lives of Shchukin and Morozov.
For the Alexander the Great exhibition, the Dutch Friends
supported the project Morphing Alexander which included
making a series of photos and a film by the Dutch photographer
Erwin Olaf.
In St. Petersburg, the restoration of the paintings of the
Dutch masters from the Hermitage Museum collection
continued and entered its final phase. The Dutch Friends
also decided to sponsor the conservation of nineteen
gilded frames for the Dutch paintings mentioned above,
as well as the production of fifteen new authentic frames,
also intended for the Dutch masterpieces.
The Board meetings were held on 25 January, 31 March,
15 June, 17 September, and 8 November. Several Board
members: Michael Veltman, Kees ter Horst, Rina Rijkenberg
and J. Meerdink took their leave from the Foundation’s
Board of Directors after many years of service and
countless hours of work for the Friends of the Hermitage.
They were praised for their work at a special dinner. Maya
Mutlu who works in the department of communication
of Hermitage • Amsterdam and coordinates the Friends
activities was replaces by Martijn van der Velden.
HERMITAGE MUSEUM FOUNDATION (USA), INc.
The Hermitage Museum Foundation (USA), Inc. contributes
to the preservation and promotion of the State
Hermitage Museum, raises funds for restoration and conservation
projects as well as for securing the donation of
art and artifacts, and participates in various charity activities.
The Foundation also hosts educational outreach programmes
and supports exhibitions throughout the US,
and organizes an annual White Nights Tour to the museum.
In February, the HMF launched a series of lectures with
a lecture by Prof. Cynthia Whittaker, Catherine the Great and
the Art of Collecting – A Network of Spies.
April produced two events in New York City: a reception
and private viewing of a rare icon collection from the Museum
of Russian Icons in Clinton, Massachusetts, and a private
reception and screening of the documentary film,
The Hermitage Dwellers by Aliona Van der Horst at Tuxedo
Park, New York. The film was enthusiastically received by
all and generated interest in the annual HMF-sponsored
White Nights Tour to the Hermitage.
In May, the HMF President and Faberge expert, Peter L.
Schaffer made a presentation with a slide show entitled
Will the Real Faberge Please Stand Up at Doubles, a private
club in New York.
In mid-June, the HMF hosted another reception and
screening of The Hermitage Dwellers at the Russian Cultural
Center in Washington, D.C.
In late June, the HMF brought twenty guests from the US,
Ireland and Sweden to the annual Hermitage Banquet Gala
and White Nights Tour to St. Petersburg.
In October, Dr. Rock Brynner made a presentation based
on his book Empire & Odyssey: The Brynners in Far East Russia
and Beyond about the four generations of the Brynner
family in the Far East of Russia, ending with his father, actor
Yul Brynner.
In November, the HMF hosted several days of intense activities
with a schedule that included over twenty-five exclusive
receptions, gatherings, private meetings and viewings
coinciding with Prof. Piotrovsky’s visit to New York. On November
4, the “standing room only” concert featuring the
Grammy-nominated violinist Anastasia Khitruk and a reception
took place at the Consulate General of the Russian
Federation. On November 6, the sellout HMF Awards
Dinner at Christie’s, honoring the artists James Rosenquist
and Vitaly Komar, was organized, in the presence of collectors,
artists, dealers and friends. The HMF also recognized
Torkom Demirjian’s gift of Urartu artifacts to the Hermitage
Museum through the HMF in honor of Academician
Boris Piotrovsky, whose book had inspired Mr. Demirjian’s
career. The next day, Prof. and Mrs. Piotrovsky together
with a group of the HMF Board members and friends travelled
to the Storm King Art Center, an outdoor museum
in Mountainville, NY. In addition to the many one-on-one
meetings with museum directors, collectors and galleries,
hermItaGe frIenDs orGanIzatIons
visits included: the Three Faiths exhibition at the New York
Public Library followed by a viewing of the Bakhmeteff
Archive at Columbia University, the Treasures into Tractors
symposium on the next day, as well as signing an agreement
with the Houston Museum of Natural Science for
a first-ever all-Hermitage exhibition of Treasures which will
open in mid-May 2011.
In December, the HMF held a holiday reception and viewing
of Skazki and two private collections at the Ana Tzarev
Gallery: Kim Balashak’s collection of Soviet era ornaments
and Paul Rodzianko’s collection of Russian pre-revolutionary
Christmas and New Year postcards.
The HMF held its semi-annual Board meetings on May 3
and on November 5 in New York City.
The Friends of the HMF have been working on the two issues
of the HMF Newsletter (released in January and
September).
The HMF finally completed the transfer to the Hermitage
Museum of the collection of 105 metal and clay pottery
Urartu artifacts, given to the State Hermitage Museum
by Mr. Torkom Demirjian in honor of Academician Boris
Piotrovsky. This collection was exhibited for the first time
in December at the Hermitage.
In 2010, the HMF also supported the following restoration
projects: conservation of the statue of Resting Satyr,
a Roman work of the 2nd century A.D. and Musician Monkeys,
a rare nineteenth-century Swiss music box. Ongoing
restoration projects funded by the HMF donors include
the tapestry The Healing of the Paralytic from the Acts of the
Apostles series based on Raphael’s cartoons; Titian’s Flight
into Egypt; antique bronzes from the collection of the Marquis
Campana; and Engraved Geographical Maps of the Petrine
Era.
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addreSS:
Hermitage museum Foundation (UsA)
505 Park avenue, 20th Floor
New york, Ny 10022
Usa
tel.: (1 212) 826 3074
Fax: (1 212) 888 4018
www.hermitagemuseumfoundation.org