Carly Farthing looks at what makes the Fitzwilliam Museums Friends scheme so successful.
The Friends of the Fitzwilliam Museum is the oldest museum support organisation in Britain, with over 2,300 members that range across Britain and Europe as far as Australia and the United States. Since its foundation in 1909, the Friends annual subscriptions have provided the Fitzwilliam with an indispensable fund solely for the purchase of acquisitions, yet what makes the organisation distinctive is the Friends involvement with the life of the Museum.
The Fitzwilliam Museum, which opened in 1848, saw its collections grow throughout the 19th century from gifts and bequests, but it lacked a dedicated acquisitions fund for the purchase of artworks. It was for this reason that Sydney Cockerell, who became Director in 1908, founded the Friends of the Fitzwilliam Museum a relatively innovative decision, given that the Fitzwilliam was the first British museum to expand upon the model of an organisation such as the Amis du Louvre.
In acknowledgement of their donations, the Friends receive special mailings with details of forthcoming exhibitions, Friends events and outings. Benefits also include the use of an exclusive Friends Room when visiting the Museum and special shopping events in the Courtyard Shop. What distinguishes the Friends of the Fitzwilliam from many museum membership schemes is the sense of community, a friendliness emblematic of what the Friends Patron the Earl of Leicester has referred to as the Fitzwilliams warm ambience.
The relationship between the Friends and the Museum Director is a particularly important one, and the Friends recently presented the Museum with Christopher Le Bruns The Eyes Castle to commemorate the 12-year directorship of retiring Director Duncan Robinson. A gift to the organisation from Friend Ian Purdy also provides for the annual Sue Purdy Memorial Lecture in memory of his late wife, one of the most devoted members of the Friends Committee.
The Friends offer their members a Summer party and a Christmas function in the Museum, and also a stimulating programme of cultural visits devised around major exhibitions and institutions. These self-financing trips take participating Friends across Britain and beyond, with previous destinations including the United States, St Petersburg and China. The Friends are also offered a unique level of involvement with Museum life, with a great many eager to volunteer their time to the Museum. Visitors to the Fitzwilliam can see the Friends manning their information desks six days a week as well as volunteering at the regular Meet the Antiquities gallery sessions, which give visitors the chance to engage up-close with the collections. Many of the Friends also offer vital support behind the scenes where, for example, they aid with essential cleaning of pottery shards.
Since their first gift to the Fitzwilliam a 16th-century Damascan tile picture the Friends donations have assisted with the acquisition of thousands of works for the Museum. These treasures include exemplary works by Gainsborough, Turner, Rodin, Picasso and William Blake, letters from Dickens and Thackeray, musical manuscripts by Mozart and Scarlatti, Greek vases from 460 bc and the recently acquired Macclesfield Psalter. With the Friends due to celebrate their centenary in 2009, it is ultimately the sheer volume and quality of these acquisitions, coupled with their presence within the Museum itself, that is the greatest testament to the Friends invaluable role in the past, present and future of the Fitzwilliam Museum.
Carly Farthing is Marketing Assistant at the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge.
w: http://www.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk