The State Hermitage Museum: Sttiart Gibson me legenda y HermitageMuseum has sliavived tpheaudsthat faii other mifieiinzs have had to confront.Britperhaps its greatest challengelies in thefirtiire as it prepares to withstand a dramatically changing economic climate. Stuart Gibson is theDirector General of IdéeArtistique Internationale and an aduiserto non- profitcicltirralinstitutions and governments in the former socialist countries. He recently orgnnized an intemationalinter-governmental conference in Ulan Bator,Mongolia, on jïcnding culture in countries in transition to a market economy. He is also a constiltantto the Ministy of Cacltirre of the Netherlands on international frcnd raising,to üNESC0 onfr~nd-raising and managementdevelopment in theculture sector in the former USSR, and currently a consultantto theStateHernitageMuseum on orgnnization and international The .State Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg(kussianFederation)hasbeen called the ‘Jewel in the Crown’ of St Petersburg. The museum came into be- ing with the purchase, by Catherine the Greatin 1764, of 225 paintingsby Dutch and Flemish masters for her new royal residence, the Winter Palace. Under Catherine’sreign, the Imperial collec- tion grew rapidly. In 1772 she pur- chased 600 paintings from L. A. Crozat, Baron of Thiers,and later constructed three new buildings along the River Neva to househer expandingcollection. In the mid-nineteenthcentury another building, the New Hermitage, was added to housethemuseum’s main collections. Over the years other collections were acquired, includingScythian and Greek gold excavated from the southofRussia in the 1830s, Greek and Roman antiqui- ties in 1861, Oriental, Byzantine and medieval objects in 1884, and arms and armour in 1885. Today the Hermitage houses one of the largest and most impressive international art collections in the world,including French,Italian and Spanishmasters, Impressionistmas- terpieces, Egyptian and Arabic antiqui- ties, and Russian icons. In total there are over 3 million objects in the Hermitage collections.Equally impressive are the museum’s five buildings and 353 rooms representingRussian Baroque and Neo- classical, as well as classical,Renais- sance and German Neoclassical archi- tecture. The museum buildings have remained relatively untouched and to- day theHermitageisthe singlesurviving mid-nineteenth-century palace-museum in virtually unaltered condition. Over theyears, theHermitagehasendured ,repeated threatsto its existence. In 1837 a 46 ISSN 1350-0775, Mifieurn Inranntionnl (UNESCO, Paris), No. 190 CJol. 48,.No. 2, 1996) O UNESCO 1996 Published by Blackwell Publishers, 108 Cowley Road,Oxford, OX4 1JF (UK) and 238 Main Street, Cambridge, MA 02142 (USA)
Transcript
The State Hermitage Museum: Sttiart Gibson
m e legenda y Hermitage Museum has sliavived tpheauds that faii other mifieiinzs have had to confront. Britperhaps its greatest challenge lies in thefirtiire as it prepares to withstand a dramatically changing economic climate. Stuart Gibson is the Director General of Idée Artistique Internationale and an aduiser to non- profit cicltirral institutions and governments in the former socialist countries. He recently orgnnized an intemational inter-governmental conference in Ulan Bator, Mongolia, on jïcnding culture in countries in transition to a market economy. He is also a constiltant to the Ministy of Cacltirre of the Netherlands on international frcnd raising, to üNESC0 onfr~nd-raising and management development in the culture sector in the former USSR, and currently a consultant to the State Hernitage Museum on orgnnization and international
The .State Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg (kussian Federation) has been called the ‘Jewel in the Crown’ of St Petersburg. The museum came into be- ing with the purchase, by Catherine the Great in 1764, of 225 paintings by Dutch and Flemish masters for her new royal residence, the Winter Palace. Under Catherine’s reign, the Imperial collec- tion grew rapidly. In 1772 she pur- chased 600 paintings from L. A. Crozat, Baron of Thiers, and later constructed three new buildings along the River Neva to house her expanding collection. In the mid-nineteenth century another building, the New Hermitage, was added to house the museum’s main collections. Over the years other collections were acquired, including Scythian and Greek gold excavated from the south of Russia in the 1830s, Greek and Roman antiqui- ties in 1861, Oriental, Byzantine and
medieval objects in 1884, and arms and armour in 1885. Today the Hermitage houses one of the largest and most impressive international art collections in the world, including French, Italian and Spanish masters, Impressionist mas- terpieces, Egyptian and Arabic antiqui- ties, and Russian icons. In total there are over 3 million objects in the Hermitage collections. Equally impressive are the museum’s five buildings and 353 rooms representing Russian Baroque and Neo- classical, as well as classical, Renais- sance and German Neoclassical archi- tecture. The museum buildings have remained relatively untouched and to- day the Hermitage is the single surviving mid-nineteenth-century palace-museum in virtually unaltered condition.
Over the years, the Hermitage has endured ,repeated threats to its existence. In 1837 a
46 ISSN 1350-0775, Mifieurn Inranntionnl (UNESCO, Paris), No. 190 CJol. 48,.No. 2, 1996) O UNESCO 1996
Published by Blackwell Publishers, 108 Cowley Road, Oxford, OX4 1JF (UK) and 238 Main Street, Cambridge, MA 02142 (USA)
The State Hermitage Museum: a modern challenge
fire destroyed most of the Winter Palace. In 1854 Czar Nicholas I sold off over 1,200 paintings in the Hermitage collections be- cause of their ‘lack of artistic value’. During the 1917 Revolution, the Winter Palace was stormed and the Hermitage collections threatened by mobs. In the 1930s some of the best of the museum’s paintings, includ- ing Rembrandts and Raphaels, were sold to obtain foreign currency. During the Ger- man siege (June 1941 to January 1944) of St Petersburg (Leningrad), most of the museum’s collections were evacuated to the Urals, while the Hermitage staff re- mained behind protecting the museum during the continuous bombardment of the city. Today the Hermitage faces a new threat. In the wake of the collapse of the Soviet Union and the financial and social chaos accompanying it, the Hermitage is confronting a unique challenge as it strives to maintain itself during the current eco- nomic transition.
The Hermitage reflects the crisis facing most cultural institutions in the former
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socialist countries. Under the socialist sys- tem, culture was lavishly funded through government largesse. Yet today the gov- ernment is only able to provide funding for basic salaries and overheads. The situation is also camplicated by governmental pre- occupation with infrastmctural problems, the decline in individual discretionary in- come upon which the culture sector must now depend, and the sector’s inexperience in promoting its interests to government and society at large.
Gallery homing the numisnzatic collection.,
international assistance is available on a limited scale, but it is more often predi- cated upon criteria that institution; in the former socialist countries cannot meet, such as fiscal accountability and appropriate management structures, or is constrained by government policies, such as import duties on foreign dona- tions and the undefined legal status of cultural institutions. In addition, the donor countries of Western Europe, North America, and Asia-Pacific cannot, or are at present unwilling, to provide
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A change in direction
A restorer in one of the rnarsezrm’s workshops.
funding at a level that will have a mean- ingful impact. Most of these countries have other social, economic and political priori- ties, and their culture sectors are also undergoing similar changes as they re- evaluate priorities.
Governments in most of the former so- cialist countries have put the culture sector on notice that funding in the short run will not be increased (in real terms) and institutions have been encouraged to seek additional support from alterna- tive sources. While welcoming their newly found independence and the ac- companying financial responsibility, they have in most cases not been given the necessary fiscal and legal tools to func- tion effectively. Appropriate legal struc- tures defining their place in the emerg- ing economies are often non-existent, and their subservience to tax legislation more appropriate to the commercial sec- tor has seriously handicapped their abil- ity to function and thrive. As a conse- quence, attempts at locating alternative sources of financing have often been thwarted, discouraged or disfavoured. For example, in the Russian Federation, income to cultural institutions is in most cases taxed at rates of 30 to 50 per cent. This is especially problematic as donors are generally opposed -to having any part of their donation diverted to the tax system.
By decree of the President of the Russian Federation, the Hermitage was given spe- cial legal status in 1994. The museum is now allowed to receive foreign and do- mestic financial assistance and undertake activities to generate additional tax-free income. This has opened up new possi- bilities, and the Hermitage has taken sev- eral steps to exploit them.
Given the Hermitage’s relative inexperi- ence in donor relations and the very lim- ited donor base in the Russian Federation, the Hermitage/UNESCO Partnership, di- rected by UNESCO’s Programme for East- em and Central Europe (PROCEED), is assisting with the establishment of an inter- national network of friends chapters on behalf of the museum. They are intended to create worldwide interest in the Hermit- age and promote exchanges between the museum and art specialists and art lovers in foreign countries, and by extension gener- ate financial support for the museum. Since a friends chapter is usually initiated and managed by a museuh and is directed toward its primary constituency, this ap- proach is unorthodox and reflects the unique circumstances in which the Hermit- age functions today.
Recognizing the need to enhance the mu- seum’s worldwide impact, the Hermitage established a development department in early 1995. The department exploits value- generating activities and relationships which support the long-term goals and financial B,
health of the museum. These include man- ;, agement of the museum’s copyrights and licences, exhibitions, museum shops, res- taurants, the Hermitage Theatre, and the establishment of outside funding relation- ships with donors and sponsors. In addi- tion, the museum has created a friends office to provide a point of contact within
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The State Hermitage Museum: a modern challenge
the museum for friends visiting the Hermit- age. In time the friends office will also assume full responsibility for co-ordinating the international friends network.
One of the Hermitage’s most viable fund- ing sources today is sponsorship. Several international companies with a presence in the Russian Federation, along with Russian firms, particularly banks, are supporting the Hermitage. While this has provided the museum with much needed supplemental income, it has also enabled sponsors to be associated with one of the premier muse- ums in the world. To date, the challenge for the Hermitage has been less in identdyiiig potential sponsors than in exploiting these relationships in the context of the muse- um’s long-term strategic priorities. This entails developing sponsorship pro- grammes that satisfy both the museum’s needs and the donor’s expectations. As with most museums, the Hermitage is sensitive to its domestic and international image and the associations it creates through sponsorships. The museum is determined that its need for immediate financial aid will not dictate sponsorship relationships,
a policy that can occasionally result in the decision to refuse a sponsorship. Such refusals are painful for any museum, but given the current economic climate in the Russian Federation, this is especially SO for the Hermitage.
Contributions in kind are another current source of support for the Hermitage. Of particular interest are in-kind consultancies, which are especially important because the Hermitage is presently forbidden to use any of its operating income to engage consult- ants. As with most in-kind giving, these consultancies are generally limited to a specific length of time. Therefore the chal- lenge for the Hermitage has been selecting consultancies which target the museum’s immediate needs and which the museum can continue to exploit independentiywhen the consultancy terminates.
Accounting and accountability
The Hermitage has recognized that donors are cautious about supporting institutions that cannot demonstrate good i)
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i%e ‘Golden Roo???’.
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management, including competent and transparent accounting. Last year it issued its first annual financial statement drafted by an international independent account- ancy and utilizing Western accounting practices. In addition, the museum is in the process of establishing a new internal accounting system adhering to Western accounting practices, which will run in parallel to the Russian accounting system. This will allow the museum to provide present and potential donors with a trans- parent on-going picture of the Hermit- age’s financing.
Soliciting funding from business, govern- ments, foundations and trusts, and indi- viduals requires a reliable and experienced management which will optimize dona- tions. The Hermitage recognizes that the organization and management of the mu- seum must be enhanced and new skills introduced. With the aid of a grant from the Government of the Netherlands, the Her- mitage is embarking on an ambitious train- ing programme including seminars in fund- raising, exhibition management and public relations led by experienced professionals from outside the former USSR. In addition, the museum is implementing a series of month-long internships for Hermitage staff at museums in Western Europe and North America. The museum acknowledges that management and organizational ap- proaches used by museums outside the former socialist countries are not necessar- ily applicable to the current situation in the Russian Federation. Therefore the overall
training programme is seen as a two-way sharing of ideas which will result in the development and deployment of manage- ment approaches sensitive to current Rus- sian realities and the museum’s long-term needs.
A balanced view of the situation facing the Hermitage requires a full appreciation of the task before it. With over 1,200 employ- ees and one of the largest collections in the world, it must implement changes while maintaining the day-to-day activities of the museum. It must also continue to satisfy the expectations of its traditional Russian clientele to whom the Hermitage is dedi- cated, while creating conditions that will encourage foreign visitors and donors to return again and again. This cannot be accomplished in the short term. It will require the resources of the entire museum organization. It is also perhaps instructive to remember that the Hermitage and other museums in the former socialist countries have no ready-made models upon which to draw. They will create solutions and creative forms of financing by trial and error, based upon the hard realities before them.
The Hermitage’s commitment to meeting this challenge is a testament to its determi- nation to adapt to the changing world around it, while sustaining its unique position as one of the most important museums in the world and a shrine to the Russian heritage. Such courage warrants our patient support.
