Historical
The history of the association of the Luxembourg Friends of Museums of art and history dates back to the « society of the Friends of Museums » founded in 1926.
Back in those days, the aim of this society was to influence the public authorities to finally gather all the public collections in Luxembourg under one roof.
Since 1845, beyond the various commissions that took place, the intention to construct a national museum was central to our mission, but the execution was never achieved.
Among other things, the society's articles contributed to the creation of a museum named the "Musée Luxembourgeois", which aimed to provide " education of the people and public instruction", while equally working to enrich public collections.
Many specialists, such as Joseph Hackin, a true patriot, curator of the museum Guimet in Paris and expert on Afghanistan –particularly in the field of oriental art-, provided substantial support to the founders of the Friends of Museums.
In 1928 those same pioneers finally saw their idea of Luxembourgish cultural heritage gathered in a museum come to life, as it was eventually located in the “Marché des Poissons” area.
It was an old aspiration that took over 60 years to come to life.
However, only after steady infrastructural development and improvement, could the state museums open, on the eve of the Second World War.
Joseph Bech took on the position of president of the society during the first year and the first major benefactors of the society were the families Dutreux-Pescatore, Emile Mayrisch, the company Arbed and Marcel Noppeney- among others, whose social, cultural and charity engagement were admirable.
The society continued its work until August 1941, as the Second World War put halt to it’s journey...
Nonetheless, the list of the members, benefactors and donors increased along the years, as our cultural hegemony increased as well.
The association regularly publishes a guidebook which acts as a reminder of this rich history to the current board.
THE FRIENDS OF MUSEUMS NOWADAYS
It was only in 1977 that a group of men and women gathered around Joseph-Emile Muller, art historian and curator of the fine art section of the national museum, created the second edition of « the association of the friends of the national museum of history and art ».
They had to start all over again with the society as a starting point and exemplar. They had to: attract members, supporters, benefactors, organize conferences and trips, and reinforce the conception of museums as a location for memories that require an audience to have an impact.
Many important presidents stood by this mission: Joseph Emile Muller from 1977 to 1991, Dr. Roger Welter from 1991 to 1993, Pierre Wurth from 1993 to 1996, Mr. André Elvinger from 1996 to 2003, Marie-Françoise Glaesener from 2003 to 2015.
Since 2015, Florence Reckinger has been president of the Luxembourg Friends of Museums.
Currently, Marie-Françoise Glaesener is the honorary president of this organization.
The Luxembourg Friends of Museums currently have over 1700 members.
The loyalty of its members embodies the hard and diligent values of the former boards.