The Badge of Honor of the
Friends of the National Gallery

The pins are designed and donated by the Berlin and Düsseldorf-based goldsmith studio Georg Hornemann, which is internationally known for its high-quality jewelry and proximity to art.

The badge of honor for the FRIENDS is a small, wearable work of art made of white gold and blackened silver. An essential component is a wafer-thin piece of the original glass panes of the Neue Nationalgalerie, which had to be replaced as part of the building renovation. This means that everyone who is awarded the pin also wears a historical piece of this famous Berlin building.

The material proximity to Mies van der Rohe's 20th century architectural icon is also reflected in the design implementation of the pin. In its design, the goldsmith's studio took up the shape and structure of the building. With two adjacent squares that serve as a frame for white gold and glass, it corresponds to the reduced architecture. At the same time, it reinterprets the geometric grid of the seemingly floating steel roof above the glass exhibition hall.

The first to be awarded the Badge of Honor in 2022 are the honorary members of FREUNDE: Our wonderful founder Ulla Pietzsch, our unique director and general director Peter-Klaus Schuster and of course our initiator, chairman for over 30 years and still an important, constructive advisor and valued Friend Peter Raue. The following year the badges of honor were awarded to Erika Hoffmann, Hans Düttmann and Felix von Boehm. Erika Hoffmann and her husband Rolf made a significant contribution to the founding of the “Nationalgalerie Prize” in 2000, which gave contemporary art a major stage in the Nationalgalerie. After Rolf Hoffmann's death, Erika Hoffmann took over his place on the FREUNDE board of trustees and was always an inspiring and important advisor to the board for 18 years. Hans Düttmann was a member of the board from 2002 to 2020 and dedicated himself to many projects with great dedication, especially supporting all of FREUNDE's construction projects and ideas, but also helping to launch the journal. Felix von Böhm has been designing and producing the Stober podcast on a voluntary basis since 2022 with many exciting, enriching conversations. We thank you from the bottom of our hearts for this commitment.