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Canadian Friends of the Hermitage
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ART AND CULTURE IN ST. PETERSBURG and MOSCOW
September 20 - October 3, 2001 (13 days)
In St. Petersburg we visit:
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We stay in the Swiss-run de luxe Hotel Angleterre, within walking distance of Nevsky Prospect and all major attractions. From St. Petersburg we travel by first-class sleeper train overnight to MOSCOW, where we spend four full days of sightseeing and visits to outstanding cultural venues:
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We stay at the five-star National Hotel, located in the city centre near the shopping area. The Kremlin, Red Square and the Bolshoy Theatre are within a few minutes' walk from the hotel. On the afternoon of October 2, we leave for VIENNA, where we are overnight guests of Austrian Airlines at Hotel Ibis. We shall find something to do that evening. If you do not wish to extend your stay in Vienna, we leave the next morning and arrive in Toronto in the early afternoon of October 3. Priced at $4,999 (CAN) per person, two persons per room. Single supplement: $1,280 (CAN). A deposit of $700 accompanies your registration; balance of tour price is due by July 15.
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THE HERMITAGE AT HOME AND ABROAD
We learn from the March issue of the Art Newspaper that the Russian Ministry of Culture, the State Hermitage Museum and the Lomonosov Porcelain Factory will soon sign an agreement to transfer control over the factory's museum collection of some 25,000 items to the Hermitage while keeping it on the territory of the factory. Founded in 1744 as the Imperial Porcelain Factory by the daughter of Peter the Great, Empress Elizabeth, the porcelain factory is Europe's third oldest.
Useful web sites:
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CHALLENGES OF CONNECTING COLLECTIONS: The Hermitage Collections Inventory Project At the AGM on 28 April, Patricia Young, Manager of Professional Programs with The Canadian Heritage Information Network introduced her talk on the five year, 3.3 million dollar project, with a slide of Peale's The Artist in His Museum, where a drawn curtain hints at the riches within. Cataloguing the Hermitage Collection responds to the Director's request to automate the registration and inventory information. Ms. Young pointed out that with a staff of 2,500, a single department at the Hermitage may be compared to the size of a whole Canadian museum. The collections are vast and varied, and housed in exhibit halls, storerooms, and off-site. It is hoped that this project will provide an accounting of these collections and reveal their actual size — now estimated at between 2.8 and 4 million. "How do we go about it? Where do we begin… we are a small team with a long way to go… we must establish momentum to keep staff engagement. The required planning, teamwork, communication — even finding the right software for Russian use - are all under discussion. Although the project has outside assistance, the Hermitage has to run it."
The Getty Trust, Bombadier, SNC Lavalin and others have provided funds for this Foundation project. Jim Fox, Manager of Technology Assessment at CHIN, said: "The whole collection will be done; we went last year and got a feel for the experience within the Hermitage and its people. There's not much Information Technology experience in Russia. We gave a session to the staff: and we must find a Collection Management System that suits them. We must start with registration information… and go from there." In conclusion, Patricia Young said, "What a privilege to be involved." Paul Marland |
Ottawa Chapter News |
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ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING On Saturday, April 28th, members attending the first annual general meeting of the Friends elected a full slate of Executive Committee members to carry on the work of the Canadian Friends of the Hermitage. If you missed the meeting, reports on last year's activities, a copy of our by-laws, financial statements and budget figures are available to members by calling 236-1116.
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AN ALL-NEW FALL SERIES OF LECTURES "IMAGES" Start the season with a series of Saturday morning lectures on art appreciation! After last year's very successful series with Claude Dupuis we have changed the format slightly and bring you five speakers who are especially qualified to speak on their chosen topics. We can guarantee that you will be enchanted. As always, there is a connection with the Hermitage — many of the works you will get to know are part of the Hermitage collections. In all cases the artists are represented in St. Petersburg. On September 29 we start the series with a talk on The Golden Age of Dutch Painting. Our speaker is Mary Nash who is a docent at the National Gallery. Her own Dutch heritage has led her to study Dutch art in depth. Did you know that the Hermitage owns more paintings by Rembrandt than any other museum anywhere, even in the Netherlands? On October 13, Curator of European Art at the Art Gallery of Ontario, Christina Corsiglia will come to Ottawa to speak on the superb collections of decorative arts amassed by Empress Catherine the Great. On October 27, Ruth Wilson, senior docent at the National Gallery, will give a guided talk in the National Gallery on Lorenzo Lotto and Chardin, two artists who are represented at the State Hermitage by some of their major works. You will be in the presence |
of actual works of art rather than slide images. On November 10, Agnes Beckett, head docent at the National Gallery, will speak on Icons, images of a very special kind, symbols of the deepest religious experience. Agnes has studied the development of icons and will share with us her impressions enriched during this fall's tour to Russia where she will have paid special attention to famous icons in churches and museums. On November 17, Rina Wright, a docent well known for her lively presentations, will speak on a major master of the 20th century, Matisse. We hope that the Hermitage will include Matisse's great "La Danse" in its exhibition of impressionist and post-impressionist art slated to come to Toronto and Montreal in 2002-2003. All lectures will take place at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday mornings at the National Library, except for the lecture on October 27th, which will be held at the National Gallery of Canada. Cost of the lectures:
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Toronto Chapter News |
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At long last we have a Toronto Office! You will find us at 50 Baldwin Street
We share office space with the Ontario Museums Association in one of Toronto's well-known heritage buildings, the home of George Brown, Father of Confederation and founder of the Toronto Globe. To contact our office, call (416) 979-0932. Our Toronto e-mail address is memoma@planeteer.com and our web site is www.carleton.ca/gallery/hermitage To visit in person, please make an appointment with Joan McNabb who, together with Bill Humphries has taken on the challenge of launching our Toronto Chapter. Joan brings with her a great deal of volunteer experience, admiration for the Hermitage Museum, and a sense of adventure; Bill is an active Board Member of The State Hermitage Museum Foundation of Canada and a committed supporter of worthwhile causes. We have openings for volunteers! We have a place for you, whether you have only limited free time to give… wish to volunteer on a regular basis… or prefer working on a special event. Have you some special skills to offer? Do you love art and adventure? If you like to meet interesting people and be an active Friend of the Hermitage, please call Joan or Bill at (416) 979-0932 |
We are currently developing fall, winter and spring programs for 2001/2002. We will be offering a series of lectures, a program on art appreciation, including discussion of some of the masterpieces at the Hermitage, and special events to mark the launching of our Toronto Chapter. Meanwhile, enjoy the exhibition at the Art Gallery of Ontario: Treasures from the Hermitage - Rubens and His Age will be on show until August 12th. You may order tickets by calling TicketKing at (416) 872-1212. From out of town call toll free 1-800-461-3333. To order group tickets, please call (416)-979-6608 Special AGO events in June include a lecture by Dr. Marjorie E. Wiseman, Curator of European Painting and Sculpture at the Cincinnati Museum, who will speak at the AGO on Thursday, June 7 at 7 p.m. on Lush for Life: The Rubensian Aesthetic. On June 13, at 7 p.m., Dr. Leslie Korrick, professor at York University, will speak on The Cabinet of Curiosities. Admission: general public $10 per lecture, AGO members, $8. For tickets to both lectures, call 416-979-6608.
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PLEASE NOTE: You are invited to attend the Toronto Chapter's inaugural lecture given by Dr. Alexander Babin, Curator of French Art at the Hermitage Museum. Dr. Babin will speak in June, date, time and location to be confirmed. Dr. Babin is the recipient of the 2001 Frieberg Scholarship awarded annually by the State Hermitage Foundation of Canada, allowing him to spend a month at the Art Gallery of Ontario, working on preparations for the exhibition of Canadian art from the AGO to be shown at the Hermitage in 2002. For information, please call our Toronto Chapter office.
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