A Message from Mikhail Piotrovsky
Dear Friends,
The world has gone mad, and it will never be the same again. Things that are happening right now are unfathomable, they should never happen…
Yet we must keep calm in this madness, because our mission of protecting cultural bridges between the nations has become even more important than ever. It is for us to keep this fragile connection between people, help the nations listen to each other and get back to dialogue instead of violence. Our coordinated efforts will be needed to help culture survive through turbulent times. And here, our personal relations are important.
Friendship is tested in difficult times. And I thank you all for your friendly feelings towards the Hermitage.
— Mikhail Piotrovsky and colleagues
About Us
Established in 1994, The Hermitage Museum Foundation promotes and preserves the rich collections of the Hermitage Museum.
Since our founding we have worked with individuals, institutions, and corporations to successfully launch a wide range of projects and initiatives that serve as a cultural bridge to the arts.
Our Work
HMF, with the support of Howard Greenberg and Deborah Bell, has made a gift of 21 pictures made by five 20th-century American photographers: Bruce Davidson, Leon Levinstein, Arthur Leipzig, Aaron Siskind, and Louis Faurer.
The images greatly expand the representation of American photography in the Hermitage Museum’s Contemporary Art Collection, already enriched with works by Annie Leibovitz, Steve McCurry, Candida Höfer, and others.
HMF secured a major grant from the U.S. State Department for the restoration of these celebrated frescoes as part of a large-scale international museum exhibition After Raphael.
The Foundation was pleased to fund the 2008 republishing of this volume celebrating Cy Twombly’s work exhibited at the Hermitage in 2003.
Cy Twombly’s gestures are some of the most beloved in 20th century art. The painter, graphic artist, sculptor and photographer is prized above all for the sweeping, scribbled marks that he makes with his drawing instruments. Though mostly indecipherable, at least on a literal level, Twombly’s colorful, dense gestures are compellingly articulate in their rhythm, line, allusion and mood. Deeply sophisticated and sensual, they follow in the footsteps of Western tradition while speaking resolutely in the hushed and tentative tones of the modern age, defying prevailing stylistic clichas and mediating between the old and new worlds. This exceptional volume presents 50 years of drawings by the artist, most taken from his own personal collection.
How You Can Help
A Global Network
An independent U.S. foundation, we are part of a global network of foundations, museums, and learning centers dedicated to supporting the work of the Hermitage Museum, expanding its collections, and serving internationally as a bridge for great art and cultural exchange.