The Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden mourn the loss of Henry H. Arnhold

24 August 2018

[Translate to English:] Die Staatlichen Kunstsammlungen Dresden trauern um Henry H. Arnhold

The Director General of the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden (Dresden State Art Collections), Marion Ackermann, expresses her condolences about the loss of Henry H. Arnhold:

“The Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden have lost one of their most valued patrons and a loyal friend. The Dresden native was at our side for decades, had personal ties to many colleagues at the museums and, during all that time, played an intensive part in the work of the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden.

Henry Arnhold was an art enthusiast and art connoisseur who supported countless exhibitions and research projects of the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden, such as “The Grand Cure: A disabled Saxon Prince and his Tour of Italy” at the Green Vault in 2018 or “Beneath Italian Skies” at the Albertinum in 2017, to name two very recent examples.

Henry Arnhold not only supported science, art and culture but moreover tried to connect these fields with one another. He thus continued his family’s legacy of promoting both the city of Dresden and Saxony. Giving support to young scientists and to promote their exchange with international cultural institutions was of special importance to him. Out of this motivation, the “Curatorial Exchange in Honor of Henry H. Arnhold” was established between the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, his home, and the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden, his city of birth, in 2005. Six years later, a further scientific exchange programme between the Victoria & Albert Museum in London and the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden was installed.

Henry Arnhold was a global citizen from Dresden. His multifaceted engagement on behalf of his city of birth, not only for the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen, was characterised by an open mind, by idealism and by an unshakeable faith in being able to shape the world for the better. Given his life story, in which the persecution of the Jews by the NS regime manifested itself, this belief had an even stronger impact. It is an enduring example of humanity, of taking on social responsibility and of striving for unity.

Our long period of friendship makes the loss particularly hard to bear. We bow in reverence to Henry Arnhold.”