Dutch Friends of the Hermitage
The activity of the Foundation of the Hermitage Friends in the Netherlands started in 1994 as a result of successful collaboration between the State Hermitage Museum and the Nieuwe Kerk in Amsterdam.
The Foundation’s motto is: “We do not help the Hermitage, we share with the museum its responsibility for preserving the collections of the Dutch masters for future generations”. To date, the main joint projects have been focused on restoration: New Roof and New Lighting for Rembrandt (1998) and New Roof and New Lighting for the Dutch Masters (2000). Her Royal Majesty Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands took part in the official festivities of the opening of the restored rooms. It was then that, in the presence of Her Majesty, Mikhail Piotrovsky and Ernst Veen signed a Protocol of Intent “On the Opening of a Branch of the State Hermitage Museum in Amsterdam”.
The Foundation has sponsored many exhibitions, as well as educational and restoration projects in support of the Hermitage both in the Netherlands and in St. Petersburg. But the most ambitious and exciting project has been the opening of the Hermitage Amsterdam exhibition center (2004/2009) – one of the most advanced cultural and exhibition complexes in the Netherlands.
To date, the Dutch Friends of the Hermitage is the largest of the existing Hermitage Friends’ organizations, numbering over 5,000 members.
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 50
E-mail: vrienden@hermitage.nl
www.hermitage.nl