Renate Eikelmann—for decades, the face and heart of the Bavarian National Museum—has both achieved and influenced great things during her nearly two decades on the job. With this publication, the Freundeskreis des Bayerischen Nationalmuseums (Friends of the Bavarian National Museum) joins with many of her contemporaries in the art world to recognize this unique general director.

“Through this book, we wish to express our joy and thanks. Its purpose is to document an era and its protagonists. Most specifically, however, this book is about Renate Eikelmann, as well as friends, friendships, the Bavarian National Museum and its discourse over time,” writes Florian Seidel, Chair of the Freundeskreise des Bayerischen Nationalmuseums. The book provides an attractive overview of the exhibitions, acquisitions, and the scope of activities, such as restoration and research projects, along with numerous texts by significant figures. The internationally renowned photographer Sammy Hart’s sensitive photos provide an impressive look behind the scenes of a museum.

“It seems to me that one of Renate Eikelmann’s special achievements at the Bavarian National Museum is that she knew how to combine the traditional and the modern to create a fortunate, educational symbiosis, always with the highest aesthetic ambitions.”– H.R.H. Franz, Duke of Bavaria