Cash Still a Concern for Russia's Hermitage
November 25, 2000 - 0:0
LONDON Not even the lure of arguably the world's greatest fine art collection has been enough to pull Russia's Hermitage Museum out of financial difficulty.
Its director, Mikhail Piotrovsky, says he needs around $25 million a year to run the huge winter palace complex, but gets just $6 million from the state.
Add to that a similar sum generated by the museum itself, and the jewel of St. Petersburg is still only halfway to what it needs.
Ideally, Piotrovsky would like another $200 million for more ambitious projects than just facelifts and paying staff.
"Our eight buildings need a lot of restoration, and every year we restore part of the facades at a cost of $1 million," he told Reuters at this week's press launch of a new Catherine the Great exhibition in London's Somerset House on the River Thames.
But he was not complaining.
"Last year was the first time in seven years that we got 100 percent of the state money allotted to us," he said, adding that international cooperation was a way of making up the shortfall.
London Show Good for Hermitage The Hermitage gets one pound ($1.41) from every ticket sold at the London show, which runs until next September.
And the hope is that future collaboration, including with the New York-based Guggenheim Museum, will draw attention and visitors to Russia's "Venice of the North".
"It will help us to get more and more people to the Hermitage," he said. Piotrovsky said that Catherine, Russia's greatest empress, provided the ideal combination of modern thinking and good taste to pull in the crowds.
"She was an extraordinary personality. She was one of the greatest collectors in history, and everything she collected was of the highest quality possible." The star of the show is Poussin's "Moses Striking the Rock", ironically bought by Catherine from Britain in 1779 to the consternation of the British public, who wanted it and other paintings sold to Russia to form the basis of a national gallery.
Compromise Needed on Trophy Art Piotrovsky was optimistic that some important artefacts looted by Soviet troops from Germany after World War II would be returned from the Hermitage's massive storerooms.
Russia passed a law earlier this year barring the return of most art treasures seized by the Red Army, but a number of works, including those from churches and charities, are exempt.
Among them are the 116 panels from three 14th century windows of the Marienkirche in Frankfurt-on-Oder, on Germany's Polish border.
"Negotiations for the return of this stain glass are ongoing," Piotrovsky said. "According to the law, they can be demanded back by the Germans.
"We now live in a society where we have to compromise, rather than receiving decrees from the Politburo." The issue of trophy art is an emotive one in Russia, where many people argue that art is meager reparation for the millions of Soviet citizens who perished during the war.
(Reuter)
Its director, Mikhail Piotrovsky, says he needs around $25 million a year to run the huge winter palace complex, but gets just $6 million from the state.
Add to that a similar sum generated by the museum itself, and the jewel of St. Petersburg is still only halfway to what it needs.
Ideally, Piotrovsky would like another $200 million for more ambitious projects than just facelifts and paying staff.
"Our eight buildings need a lot of restoration, and every year we restore part of the facades at a cost of $1 million," he told Reuters at this week's press launch of a new Catherine the Great exhibition in London's Somerset House on the River Thames.
But he was not complaining.
"Last year was the first time in seven years that we got 100 percent of the state money allotted to us," he said, adding that international cooperation was a way of making up the shortfall.
London Show Good for Hermitage The Hermitage gets one pound ($1.41) from every ticket sold at the London show, which runs until next September.
And the hope is that future collaboration, including with the New York-based Guggenheim Museum, will draw attention and visitors to Russia's "Venice of the North".
"It will help us to get more and more people to the Hermitage," he said. Piotrovsky said that Catherine, Russia's greatest empress, provided the ideal combination of modern thinking and good taste to pull in the crowds.
"She was an extraordinary personality. She was one of the greatest collectors in history, and everything she collected was of the highest quality possible." The star of the show is Poussin's "Moses Striking the Rock", ironically bought by Catherine from Britain in 1779 to the consternation of the British public, who wanted it and other paintings sold to Russia to form the basis of a national gallery.
Compromise Needed on Trophy Art Piotrovsky was optimistic that some important artefacts looted by Soviet troops from Germany after World War II would be returned from the Hermitage's massive storerooms.
Russia passed a law earlier this year barring the return of most art treasures seized by the Red Army, but a number of works, including those from churches and charities, are exempt.
Among them are the 116 panels from three 14th century windows of the Marienkirche in Frankfurt-on-Oder, on Germany's Polish border.
"Negotiations for the return of this stain glass are ongoing," Piotrovsky said. "According to the law, they can be demanded back by the Germans.
"We now live in a society where we have to compromise, rather than receiving decrees from the Politburo." The issue of trophy art is an emotive one in Russia, where many people argue that art is meager reparation for the millions of Soviet citizens who perished during the war.
(Reuter)