The Kaiser Friedrich Museumsverein (KFMV) has supported the Gemäldegalerie and Skulpturensammlung of the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin for more than 125 years. Wilhelm von Bode founded the KFMV in 1897 to serve the then newly established Kaiser-Friedrich-Museum, which was renamed the Bode-Museum in 1956. The association continues to support the two collections, which are now held at separate locations, primarily by making new acquisitions on their behalf.
An exclusive programme of guided tours, lectures, excursions and art trips provides its members (currently numbering some 650) insights into the two collections, their current projects and the history of European art from the early Middle Ages to 1800.
The most recent successful acquisition for the Gemäldegalerie was the purchase of Matteus Stom’s Sarah Leading Hagar to Abraham (1642–after 1645). The painting was restituted in April 2019 by the Stiftung Preußischer Kulturbesitz to the heirs of the Berlin art dealer Heinrich Ueberall (1869–1939), who as a Jewish art dealer was subject to repression by the Nazi regime after 1933. The painting was then auctioned at Sotheby’s in London in the summer of 2019. With the help of loans and the support of the Friede Springer Stiftung, the KFMV board succeeded in acquiring the work (Gemäldegalerie, Room IX).
In 2023, the KFMV received a donation on the occasion of its 125th anniversary from the sisters Astrid Steiniger (a long-standing KFMV member) and Beate Kuckei-Funke from the Heinz Kuckei collection: Portrait of a Young Man (1675–1680) by Nicolaes Maes. The painting fills a gap in the Gemäldegalerie’s collection, as it did not previously contain a portrait by Maes. The painting is currently being restored; once the process is complete, it will be exhibited in the Gemäldegalerie.
2023 also saw the successful completion of a fundraising campaign by the Junge Kaiser (literally: “Young Emperors”; our members aged between 18 and 35) for a new frame for the painting The Adoration in the Forest by Filippo Lippi (ca. 1459). The tabernacle frame, which was constructed according to historical models and techniques, can now be viewed in the Gemäldegalerie, Room 30. This campaign by the Junge Kaiser was extremely popular and resulted in numerous contributions both large and small from members as well as external supporters.
All artworks acquired by the association in the Gemäldegalerie and the Bode-Museum are marked with a label “Eigentum des Kaiser Friedrich Museumsvereins” (property of the Kaiser Friedrich Museumsverein).
In accordance with its mission, the KFMV continues to make acquisitions for both of the collections it supports, with the help of its members and external supporters.
In addition to its acquisition activities, the KFMV also supports popular exhibitions in the Gemäldegalerie and the Skulpturensammlung, the most recent being Georg Petel and the Enigma of his Crucifixion Group, displayed in the Bode-Museum from July to October 2024, and Frans Hals: Master of the Moment, shown in the Gemäldegalerie from July to November 2024.
“Junge Kaiser” is the name given to all members of the association who are between 18 and 35 years of age. They continue the KFMV’s many years of successful patronage and have their own programme of events.