Ralph Gleis described the purchase of the bronze “The Pleader” by Camille Claudel, created in 1898 and cast in 1905, as “the most important purchase of my time as director”. At the end of the year, Gleis left the Old National Gallery for Vienna, but he spoke of his most recent acquisition with the enthusiasm of a tireless collector.
The small-format bronze is the focus of the 40th anniversary of the Ernst von Siemens Art Foundation (EvS), which is being celebrated here in Berlin, in the Magnus House opposite the Museum Island, where Camille Claudel is now also represented.
The purchase would not have been possible without the foundation; it was planned strategically over a long period of time, because such an object does not simply come onto the market – it has to be spotted and courted. But then a financially strong and, above all, decisive patron like the EvS is needed to make the dream a reality.
Purchases not possible without a donor
Another successful move was discussed this morning in the Magnus House: the return of an oil sketch by Rubens to the Ducal Museum in Gotha. The fine piece from 1621 disappeared from there along with four other, picture-sized Rubens sketches for the Jesuit church in Antwerp after the end of the war. It only resurfaced when the museum in the USA, which had acquired the half-meter-high oak panel in good faith years ago, wanted to put it on the art market. Together with a leading auction house and the funds of the EvS, it was possible to convey Gotha’s claim to the US museum. The return will be duly celebrated in Gotha in a few days.
The foundation is very, very fast and can seize opportunities.
Martin Hoernes, Secretary General of the Ernst von Siemens Art Foundation
In its early years, the foundation was still largely invisible, initially increasing its endowment capital and only expanding its radius of action beyond the foundation’s headquarters in Munich in around 2000. But then things went up rapidly: annual donations rose at times to 12 million euros a year, before moving roughly to around eight million.
More than 100 million euros for art
560 works of art and collections were acquired for public museums with the help of the EvS, and all of them are accessible in the exhibition collections, unless there are conservational reasons against it, as is the case with graphics. 102.5 million euros were approved for this purpose.
In addition, there were 47.6 million euros for exhibitions and accompanying catalogues – over a thousand so far, plus 353 scientific inventory catalogues, which are essential for research but unfortunately rarely feature at the top of public budgets. 11 million euros for restoration measures, especially during the pandemic, and 23.2 million euros in “other funding” round off the EvS’s balance sheet.
The EvS does not take action on its own initiative, as Secretary General Martin Hoernes emphasizes: “We react to the museums’ requirements.” But then the foundation is “very, very quick and can seize opportunities.” The acquisitions planned by the museums are often “cultural assets of national importance,” as Pia Müller-Tamm, former museum director in Karlsruhe and now a member of the foundation’s board, explains.
In general, there is great joy, everyone is working together very well, and the willingness of retailers and auction houses to cooperate is particularly praised, as is the expertise of the museums that applied for the grants, as well as the experts who were called in.
Ernst von Siemens set up the foundation from his private assets; it is linked to the Siemens Group only by its name. The funds to be spent come from the income from the foundation’s capital. In terms of its activity profile and scope, the EvS is most comparable to the (public) Cultural Foundation of the States, with which it often cooperates on acquisitions.