WELCOME TO THE AMERICAN FRIENDS OF STATENS MUSEUM FOR KUNST
- AFSMK -

Co-creating tomorrow through art.

Art connects people. Through partnerships and philanthropy, American Friends of SMK invites people, organizations, and societies to use art as a unifying force shaping our shared future.

AFSMK, the American Friends of the Statens Museum for Kunst (National Gallery of Denmark), is an organization and a friendship scheme that aims to strengthen ties between the American public and SMK, located in the heart of Copenhagen.

AFSMK creates opportunities in Denmark and in the United States for people to broaden their understanding of and deepen their ties to Danish culture by experiencing, participating and supporting the collection, exhibitions and activities of the museum in both countries.

Based in the United States as a charitable foundation (501c3), AFSMK develops travel exhibitions and inspiring programing in relation to the exhibitions such as lectures, concerts, conferences, etc. AFSMK has a large group of patrons and friends in the United States, Denmark, and other countries around the world.

Ms. Hanne Støvring
 

Ms. Hanne Støvring
Executive Director of AFSMK

Hanne Støvring is the Executive Director of the American Friends of SMK. She holds a B.A. and an M.A. in art history, as well as a diploma in Journalism. She is an EFA Certified Fundraiser and previously served ten years at SMK in Denmark where she was Head of Development and Fundraising. When she is not busy developing AFSMK, she is painting. Hanne is a skilled artist herself.

THE DIRECTORS AND OFFICERS OF THE BOARD OF AFSMK

  • Lena Beck Rørvig (President and Board Chair)

    Ms. Rørvig is an international business specialist with a varied professional history, having worked as both a stockbroker and a global HR executive. Presently, she is the principal in Beck Global Consulting, an executive coaching consultancy dedicated to unleashing the potential of global leaders. Additionally, she has ventured into entrepreneurship and angel investing. Ms. Rørvig has held numerous board positions across both the for-profit and non-profit sectors. Her academic background includes an M.Sc. in economics.

  • Colleen Ritzau Leth (Vice Chairman)

    Colleen Ritzau Leth is a specialist in museums and international affairs. She has worked at the intersection of the culture sector, business, and government to forward strategic development initiatives for organizations including The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Cairo Museum, Sotheby's, the Royal Academy of Arts, and several ministries of culture. Ms. Leth was appointed by the Ministry of Culture of France to the Executive Board of Directors of the Château de Versailles. She serves as President of the Board of Directors of the Tauck Family Foundation. Ms. Leth is a former ICOMOS Fellow in Cyprus and Resident of the Delfina Foundation in London. She holds degrees from Columbia University and NYU's Institute of Fine Arts in Art History and Archaeology, and an MBA from the University of Oxford, where she was Chair of the Oxford Art & Business Council. Ms. Leth is a co-owner of Tauck, a fourth-generation global travel company, and is committed to advancing international dialogue through travel, the arts, and cultural diplomacy. She is based between New York and London.

  • Christian Ditlev Bruun (Treasurer and Secretary)

    Mr. Bruun is a director and producer of documentary and narrative film and television. He was previously a curator of architecture and design and an innovator in digital filmmaking and digital media, and served as curator and designer of the United States Pavilion at the Venice Biennale on Architecture. Born in Copenhagen, Christian studied at Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc) in Los Angeles, California and holds a Master of Architecture from Arkitektskolen Aarhus (AAA) in Aarhus, Denmark.

  • Marc Henry (Assistant Treasurer)

    Mr. Henry has been an Attorney at Law since 1988 and is a litigation and arbitration partner at the French firm FTMS. Before that, he served for 17 years as a partners in English and then US firms. He became President of the French Arbitration Association in 2017. He gives lectures on arbitration and on the Art of Advocacy, notably at the University of Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne. He is also a philanthropist with an interest in Scandinavian matters.

  • Consul General Berit Basse

    Ambassador Basse was appointed as the Danish Consul General to New York in 2020. From 2012 to 2016, Ambassador Basse served as Denmark’s Ambassador to Singapore and Brunei, successfully overseeing key commercial and diplomatic relationships between Denmark and the two States. She has also served as First Secretary at the Embassy of Denmark in Uganda and Consul General of Denmark in Munich, Germany.

    Meanwhile, from 1992 to 1996, the Ambassador worked on several development projects for the United Nations Development Programme in Senegal. Immediately prior to her New York posting, Ambassador Basse also led the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ department in charge of client relations and global commercial opportunities.

  • Anna Thomsen Holliday

    Ms. Holliday is a partner in Huntsham Investment Partners, a private investment company based in Houston, Texas, and Founding Chairman and President of the Danish American Chamber of Commerce Southwest. She serves as the Cultural Officer at the Consulate General of Denmark in Houston and was previously the Danish Honorary Consul. She also serves on the board of numerous non-profits. Ms. Holliday received her degrees from Aalborg University in Denmark and Houston University in Texas.

  • Khurram Jamil

    Dr. Jamil is President of Global Markets and Co-founder of Area9 Lyceum, a pioneer of four-dimensional adaptive learning. Dr. Jamil’s entrepreneurial experience spans over 20 years. He has successfully led dozens of teams comprised of medical professionals and educational scientists, spearheaded large development and partnership efforts, and managed multi-million dollar educational software development projects.

  • Ilya Katsnelson

    Mr. Katsnelson is an American-Danish businessman and investor, based in Denmark. He is the Chairman of the Board of International Flight Support and owner of R&M Holding ApS as well as an expert in management, process optimization and logistics. He is a member of a number of corporate and non-profit boards and advisory bodies in Denmark and the USA.

  • Astrid la Cour

    Ms. la Cour began as director of SMK in 2023. Ms. la Cour joined the museum after an eight-year tenure as director of the Frederiksberg Museums in Copenhagen, where she established a strategic unit and administration base merging five museums and exhibition venues: Cisternerne, Møstings Hus, Bakkehuset, Storm P. Museum and the Alhambra. The two latter are now a combined museum of humor and satire, STORM. She also was the artistic director and curator at Cisternerne from 2013 to 2023. Prior to this position, she worked in both the public and private sector as curator and consultant in the creative business industry, and from 2006 to 2013 she was an art critic at the national newspaper Berlingske. Ms. la Cour is a board member of several cultural institutions in Denmark. She holds a master’s degree in Aesthetics and Culture from Aarhus University, 2003, and graduated from the Getty Leadership Institute at Claremont Graduate University in California in 2019.

  • Martin Manniche

    Martin Manniche is Founder and Chairman of Greenwave of Systems, established in 2009. Currently he serves as CEO and Co-Founder of Axon Networks. Prior to founding Greenwave, Mr. Manniche served as CTO of Cisco Systems Consumer Business Group. Mr. Manniche also co-founded KiSS Technology, a Danish technology company that brought to market the world’s first DivX players / internet connected consumer product that could stream video. Mr. Manniche has earned more than 140 industry accolades including IT-prisen Denmark’s most prestigious technology award and E.Y Entrepreneur of the year for Southern California. Mr. Manniche is also an active philanthropist helping entrepreneurs and is involved with the government transitioning Denmark to clean tech with investment and innovation in next generation wind power and other renewable energy sources. Mr. Manniche is also Goodwill Ambassador of Copenhagen.

  • Mohammad Miraly

    Mohammad N. Miraly is a writer and art collector. He holds a PhD in Religion, Ethics, and Public Policy from McGill University and serves on the Tate Modern's Acquisitions Committee. He is the author of "Faith and World: Contemporary Ismaili Social and Political Thought", the first major study of contemporary Ismailism. He published his first poetry book, "Delicate Dreams", in 2023.

  • Greg M. Moga III

    Mr. Moga is the principal of Moga Investments, LLC., providing start-up (angel) capital to companies in the biotech, technology and clean energy sector. He is the founder and sole owner of the Seattle Sperm Bank, LLC., and the founder and Executive Producer of Bray's Run (Film) Productions, LLC. Mr. Moga is a board member of the League of Conservation Voters; a board member of the Alaska Wilderness League; a board member of the Center for Environmental Forensic Science at the University of Washington; a board member of Planet Forward, of the George Washington University; a member of the Hubbard Council of the National Geographic Society; a board member of Cairnspring Mills; and a member of the Explorer's Club.

  • Jolyon Stern

    Mr. Stern is Chairman of DeWitt Stern, an insurance brokerage and risk management firm, specializing in business, personal, fine art, entertainment & media, employee benefit and executive liability insurance, and Vice-Chairman of Risk Strategies. He is the grandson of DeWitt H. Stern, the founder of DeWitt Stern and the third generation to lead the century-old firm, which is now a part of Risk Strategies. He has served on numerous non-profit boards including Carnegie Hall, Roundabout Theater Company, New Dramatists, Danish American Society, Hans Christian Andersen Society and is presently Vice Chairman of the American Academy of Dramatic Arts.

SPECIAL ADVISORS TO THE BOARD

  • Dorthe Aagesen, SPECIAL SMK ADVISOR TO THE BOARD.

    Ms. Aagesen is Chief Curator at SMK as well as Senior Researcher with SMK’s Department of Painting and Sculpture. Ms. Aagesen is responsible for management and strategic development of work with the Museum’s collections and has a seat in the Museum’s programming group . During her museum tenure, Ms. Aagesen has contributed to over fifteen exhibitions and published numerous articles covering a range of subjects within twentieth-century European art. She oversees the Museum’s modern collection, and has been engaged in ambitious reinstallations, while also organizing temporary exhibitions. She holds a degree of mag.art. in art history and has been a member of the Museum Council for Art History within the Danish Agency for Culture and served in the board of NORDIK (Nordic Committee for Art History). Ms. Aagesen has received several research grants from the Danish Ministry of Culture and the Novo Nordisk Foundation. In 2015 she was a fellow for the center for Curatorial Leadership (CCL) in New York. Prior to joining SMK in 1999, she served as a Curator for four years at Arken Museum of Modern Art.

  • Marie-Louise Dunker Nielsen, SPECIAL SMK ADVISOR TO THE BOARD.

    Ms. Dunker Nielsen joined SMK in 2021 as Deputy Director and Director of Communications. She oversees the department Marketing, Events, Learning and Interpretation, the Digital Unit, the Information and the Shop. Ms. Dunker Nielsen holds a Master of Arts and Cultural Studies from the University of Copenhagen, 1999, and has a long career as International Communications and PR Manager in some of Denmark’s most well-known design brands: Royal Copenhagen and Louis Poulsen Lighting. Ms. Dunker Nielsen was Head of PR and Marketing at the oldest and biggest auction house in Denmark, Bruun-Rasmussen, Senior Consultant and head of a lifestyle department at a communications agency and for 10 years, she was at ARKEN Museum of Contemporary Art, where she was in charge of Communication and Commerce. In 2018, Ms. Nielsen graduated from the Getty Leadership Institute at Claremont Graduate University in California.

THE ADVISORY BOARD

  • Loa Brix

    Loa Brix is the founder and CEO of Trooper. Loa has extensive experience with purpose-driven strategy, communication and marketing from both the public and private sectors. Trooper is a network which works to help brands implement their purpose throughout all digital marketing and communications efforts. Loa is also owning and developing Art Nordic Art fair – taking place in Copenhagen every year.

  • Gabriela Garza De Linde

    Gabriela Garza de Linde is an External Lecturer at the Department of Organization (IOA). She has extensive teaching experience within organization theory and project management and is currently supervising projects at HA-PRO and on the MSc in Social Science – Management of Creative Business Processes. Ms. De Linde has over two decades of experience as a project management practitioner and has lectured and supervised students at both the bachelor's and master's level. Ms. De Linde holds a CERTHE from Oxford University, and works as an Art Interpreter for Danish museums such as SMK and Louisiana.

  • Thomas Geuken

    Mr. Geuken is an expert in future studies and an Associate Director of the Copenhagen Institute for Future Studies, a Danish not-for-profit futures think tank. Prior to his career at the Institute, Mr Geuken was CEO of a Copenhagen based management consulting company for fifteen years doing C-suite leadership training. As a leadership advisor and C-suite educator, he has had the pleasure to work for companies such as Google, Volvo, IKEA Globale, Leo Burnett, Novo Nordisk, PWC, Deloitte, and Nordea, among others. Over the past fifteen years, he has authored 30+ provocative articles about the future of leadership, psychology and fascinating topics in the trajectories between arts, culture and business. Mr Geuken's first book in cooperation with the Institute is titled "All Dressed Up - But Nowhere to Go".

  • Martin Buck Heedgaard

    Martin Buck Heegaard is a strategic partnership specialist. He is Founder and partner at BARC – Business of Art and Culture – Scandinavia, where he specializes in partnerships and strategic communications. BARC advises on the use of digital tools, business development, partnerships and community building in the culture and experience sector.

  • Karin Sander Jochumsen

    Karin Sander Jochumsen is founder and owner of Chandél – Home of Beautiful Darkness. She has lived in Stockholm, New York and London – and recently returned to Copenhagen. Ms Jochumsen is educated cand. odont. from Copenhagen University and interior designer from Copenhagen School of Interior Design. Ms Jochumsen is also a philanthropist – with an interest in Scandinavian art & culture.

  • Susan Anne Mathisen

    Ms. Mathisen is the President of S. A. M. Fundraising Solutions Corp., which specializes in fundraising and planning for art conservation, historic preservation, and collections care and assists European organizations seeking to build their fundraising programs in the United States. Ms. Mathisen gained her knowledge of art conservation and museum practice through positions held at the Morgan Library, the Smithsonian Institution, the National Gallery of Art, the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, and Hardy Holzman Pfeiffer Associates (now H3 Hardy Collaboration Architecture) and as administrative conservator/development officer and adjunct professor of conservation at the Conservation Center, IFA, New York University. She has held development positions at the National Academy Museum, the American Academy in Rome, the Friends of the American Museum in Britain/Halcyon Foundation, and Meet The Composer. She is currently the interim, part-time Executive Director of the Douglaston and Little Neck Historical Society. She has a Master of Arts in Museum Studies and Textile Conservation from the Fashion Institute of Technology and a Certificate in Fundraising from New York University. She has published and presented extensively, most recently at the Institute of Fundraising Cultural Sector Conference (London, 2018).

  • Nadja Pass

    Through her concepts of ‘Conversation Salons’ and ‘Civic Desire’ Nadja Pass has reinvented the traditional salons of The Danish Golden Age. Pass has worked extensively with SMK and AFSMK in creating new formats for art talks and salons within the exhibitions. She has helped the Parliament reinvent the way we talk about politics, worked with The Ministry of Culture, and hosted several events to help ministries and corporations to rethink their purpose through conversations. Pass is also a member of The Danish Design Council, and Rector of Fremtidens Akademi in Denmark and just launched Concopia.co which builds upon conversation event experiences.

  • Kristine Schmidt

    Mrs. Schmidt is the founder and CEO of World of Impact. She is a management consultant where she assists cultural organizations and commercial businesses become purposeful and profitable through strategy, innovation, partnerships, and corporate branding. Ms. Schmidt builds on 23 years of experience from commercial and non-profit organizations and often works interim for the CEO, leading transformations. Prior to founding the World of Impact, Ms. Schmidt was VP, Strategic Branding & Marketing of the Capital of Children, where she was responsible for creating the purpose, developing the public-private partnership, securing funding, and creating purposeful events and communications.

  • Stephen Richard Schueler

    Mr. Schueler is the Chief Executive Officer for Enerjen Capital – one of the world’s leading renewable clean energy companies specializing in the maritime industry. Enerjen Capital provides services to the top shipping companies, supporting their efforts transitioning to cleaner green fuel. Mr. Schueler was recognized with the 2019 Global Sustainability Award, for his efforts helping the shipping industry transition to greener fuel. From 2013 – 2016. Mr. Schueler was the Chief Commercial Officer at A.P. Moeller Maersk Group, managing their 377 offices across 114 countries. Before Maersk, he held the position as Corporate Vice President at Microsoft Corporation in Seattle, where he was the head of global retail sales and marketing. Prior to Microsoft, Mr. Schueler worked for Procter & Gamble for more than 20 years, assuming a variety of roles across Europe, South America, and Asia before becoming the company’s head of global retail operations. Mr. Schueler has developed and led the global operations of three of the world’s largest and well known companies with strong results. He serves as board member and advisor for several international companies and organizations.

  • Sandra Septimius

    Sandra Septimius is a Danish native who resides in New York City. She works with art and design in a variety of capacities and most recently spent five years as the US representative for the Danish Auction house, Bruun Rasmussen Auctioneers. In this role, she promoted Danish art and design, and serviced the company's large base of US customers. Ms. Septimius holds a BA in Film and Mediascience from Copenhagen University and spent the earlier years of her career working in advertising agencies and with marketing at The Tivoli Gardens. In addition to her professional pursuits, Ms. Septimius is also involved in other boards that work to strengthen the community of Danes and Danish interests in NYC.

  • Thomas Noack Serup

    Mr. Serup is the founder of and creative director at Proactor, where he serves as PR and Marketing Agent as well as Communications Lead for a number of artists and brands. He is also engaged within the film industry as a talent agent for numerous actors. Mr. Serup has spent more than 20 years in the world of communication in New York and Copenhagen, on both the client and the agency side. Described by clients as a “Swiss Army knife of communication” as well as “dynamic, creative, and inspiring”, Mr. Serup has developed and executed creative and communication concepts within a variety of business areas – from the financial and travel industries to the worlds of arts and design. Experience includes D’Arcy Advertising Agency, Georg Jensen, The National Gallery of Denmark, Nykredit, Royal Copenhagen, SAS, Qatar Airways, and Verizon Media.

  • Prof. em. Dr. Jørgen Wadum

    Prof. em. Dr. Jørgen Wadum is Director of Wadum Art Technological Studies (WATS), Denmark. Until 2020 he was Director of the Centre for Art Technological Studies and Conservation (CATS), Copenhagen. He held the position as full Professor in Conservation & Restoration at the Faculty of Humanities, University of Amsterdam, 2012-2016. From 2005-2017 he was Director of Conservation at SMK, and from 1990 through 2004 he was Chief Conservator at the Mauritshuis, The Hague. He has published and lectured extensively internationally on a multitude of subjects related to technical art history and other issues of importance for the understanding and keeping of our cultural heritage. Dr. Wadum holds positions in several international organisations and committees.

  • Arthur Zegelbone

    Arthur Zegelbone is a consultant to non-profit cultural organizations in New York City and speaker about cultural diplomacy for New York University. He is a retired Foreign Service Officer and recipient of two U.S. Information Agency Meritorious Service Awards.

THE HONORARY BOARD

  • Roberta Green Ahmanson

    A philanthropist, writer, and speaker, Ms. Ahmanson is also a trustee of the private philanthropy Fieldstead & Company, a frequent speaker at the International Arts Movement’s annual encounters, and recipient of the Arts Orange County’s 2010 Achievement Award for Outstanding Arts Philanthropist.  She was a contributor to Oxford University Press’s 2008 award winning book Blind Spot: When Journalists Don’t Get Religion and previously was Chairman of the Board for the Museum of Biblical Art, New York. Ms Ahmanson received an MA in English from the University of Michigan

  • Mikkel Bogh

    Mikkel Bogh is the leader of the Center for Practice-based Art Studies at the University of Copenhagen. Prior to his appointment as the Center’s leader, Bogh was the Director of the National Gallery of Denmark for 9 years, 2014-2023. He was previously an associate professor with the Department of Arts and Cultural Studies at the University of Copenhagen, and Rector of the Royal Danish Academy of Art’s Schools of Visual Arts from 2005-2014.

  • Ambassador James P. Cain

    Ambassador Jim Cain’s career has spanned the fields of law, business, sports, and international diplomacy. From July of 2005 until January 2009, he served as U.S. Ambassador to the Kingdom of Denmark. Prior to his diplomatic service, he served as President and Chief Operating Officer of the Carolina Hurricanes of the National Hockey League, as a partner in the international law firm of Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton (formerly Kilpatrick Stockton), and as founder and Chairman of numerous civic and business enterprises.

  • Harlan Crow 

    Mr. Harlan Crow is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Crow Holdings, based in Dallas, Texas. He has a B.B.A. from the University of Texas. Mr. Crow serves as a director on several boards, including Crow Holdings, Trammell Crow Residential, American Enterprise Institute, Bush Presidential Library Foundation, Scenic Texas, University of Texas South-western Steering Committee, and the Museum of Dallas History – Old Red Court House. Furthermore he is Honorary Consul of Denmark.

  • Ambassador Edward E. Elson

    Ambassador Elson was United States Ambassador to Denmark from 1993-1998. He is currently a Vice Chairman of the American-Scandinavian Foundation and Founding Chairman of National Public Radio. He has held many volunteer positions including Chairman Emeritus, Carlos Museum, Emory University; Trustee Emeritus, Phillips Academy Andover; Rector, University of Virginia; Member, Trustee’s Council, National Gallery of Art; and Trustee Emeritus, Royal Academy of Art. He holds degrees from the University of Virginia and Emory University School of Law.

  • Ambassador Rufus Gifford 

    Ambassador Gifford is a native of Massachusetts. He graduated from St. Paul’s School in Concord, New Hampshire in 1992 and he received his B.A. from Brown University in Rhode Island. Ambassador Gifford spent a few years as a producer in Hollywood before moving on to politics. He subsequently started his own consulting business and advised numerous Democratic officials and advocated for progressive causes across the country. He met Barack Obama in early 2007 and began working on his 2008 presidential campaign. After Obama took office, he served as Finance Director for the Democratic National Committee in Washington, D.C. before moving to Chicago as a senior staff member of President Obama’s 2012 re-election campaign.

  • Nikolaj Hess

    Nikolaj Hess is an international prize- and award-winning jazz pianist and composer, and one of the leading voices in Nordic Jazz and contemporary music. He has toured with and composed music for a string of projects globally. Hess is Associate Professor and artistic researcher in the field of painting reflected into music at the Rhythmic Conservatory in Copenhagen, and is the Artistic Director of Jazz Denmark’s Summer Session.

  • Bjarke Ingels

    Mr. Bjarke Ingels started BIG Bjarke Ingels Group in 2005 after co-founding PLOT Architects in 2001 and working at OMA in Rotterdam. Through a series of award-winning design projects and buildings, Bjarke has developed a reputation for designing buildings that are as programmatically and technically innovative as they are cost and resource conscious. Bjarke has received numerous awards and honors, including Wall Street Journal’s Innovator of the Year Award, the Danish Crown Prince’s Culture Prize in 2011, the Golden Lion at the Venice Biennale in 2004, and the ULI Award for Excellence in 2009. In 2016, TIME Magazine named Bjarke one of the 100 Most Influential People in the World. Alongside his architectural practice, Bjarke taught at Harvard University, Yale University, Columbia University, and Rice University and is an honorary professor at the Royal Academy of Arts, School of Architecture in Copenhagen. He is a frequent public speaker and has spoken in venues such as TED, WIRED, AMCHAM, 10 Downing Street, and the World Economic Forum

  • René Gross Kærskov

    Mr. Kærskov is CEO for HBA, the world’s largest hospitality design firm and has extensive experience in international business. He is also co-founder of the Danish watch brand, BERING, owner of the Danish newspaper in America, BIEN, and THE COPENHAGEN HOUSE. In addition, Mr. Kærskov is an importer of H.R.H the Prince Consort of Denmark’s wine. Mr. Kærskov is a board member of the Danish American Chamber of Commerce in Southern California and presidium member of the World Wildlife Foundation in Denmark. He is the first Dane to visit the North and South Poles and has parachuted over the North Pole. Finally, Mr. Kærskov is the founder Astronaut of Virgin Galactic and a collector of Danish paintings by Skagen painters and supporter of Danish museums in America.

  • Bruce Lauritzen

    Mr. Bruce Lauritzen is Chairman of the First National Bank of Omaha. He earned an AB from Princeton University and an MBA at University of Virginia. Mr. Lauritzen is President of the Omaha Development Council and Foundation, and he is member of the Chief Executives Organization and the STRATCOM Consultation Committee. Furthermore he serves as Chairman of Clarkson Regional Health Services, Chairman of The Nebraska Medical Center, Chairman of Lauritzen Gardens Board of Trustees, Director of Ak-Sar-Ben, Creighton University, Heritage Services, Joslyn Art Museum, Nebraska Game and Parks Foundation, and Strategic Air and Space Museum. Finally Mr. Lauritzen is a member of the Federal Advisory Council to the Federal Reserve Board in Washington, and he is Royal Danish Consul for the State of Nebraska.

  • Ambassador John L Loeb Jr

    Ambassador John L Loeb Jr is the former United States Ambassador to Denmark and former Delegate to the United Nations. In addition to his career in public service, Ambassador Loeb has also had a distinguished career in business and finance. An avid art collector, he focused his collecting on Danish art after serving as US Ambassador to Denmark from 1981 to 1983. The Ambassador John L. Loeb Jr. Danish Art Collection is now the largest in the world outside of Danish museums.

  • Lars Mikkelsen

    Lars Mikkelsen is one of Denmark’s most known and prominent actors, and he has been awarded both nationally and internationally for his acting.

    You will know Lars Mikkelsen from his leading roles in several Danish films and TV shows, for example: Flammen og Citronen (Flame and Citron), Edderkoppen (The Spider), Borgen, or Herrens veje (The Ride of the Storm). In United States, Lars Mikkelsen is especially known for his role as the Russian president Viktor Petrov in House of Cards, a popular and award-winning show.

    In 2019-2020, Lars Mikkelsen served as a protector for the L.A. Ring exhibition, which was organized by AFSMK and travelled to Seattle, WA and Greenwich, CT.

  • Claus Meyer

    Mr. Claus Meyer is a world-renowned restaurateur and culinary entrepreneur. He is the mind behind the New Nordic Cuisine Movement and the co-founder of Noma, rated the world’s best restaurant four times on the World’s 50 Best Restaurants list. He has hosted several Danish and international TV cooking shows and written numerous cookbooks. Mr. Meyer co-owns several restaurants, including Studio in Copenhagen, which received a Michelin star just four months after opening, as well as several bakeries, delis, a catering business, an orchard, a vinegar brewery, a coffee roastery and a cooking school for kids and adults. Mr. Meyer relocated to New York City and last year established a food hall rooted in the New Nordic Cooking philosophy, Great Northern Food Hall, and the Michelin star restaurant, Agern, both located at Grand Central Terminal. Believing in food as a driver for social change, Meyer established the Melting Pot Foundation in 2011. The Melting Pot project is currently working on a social project in Brownsville, East New York, establishing a culinary school, cafeteria, bakery and community center, serving the local community and with the goal of engaging at-risk youth.

 

Welcome to SMK!

SMK owns the nation’s largest art collection, comprising approximately 260,000 works of art. The collection was originally founded as the royal collection, meaning that it was the private property of the Danish kings, but with the introduction of democracy in Denmark in the mid-1800s, the kings’ art collection was given to the people. That gift eventually became SMK.

SMK aims to become a museum for everyone – to make our vast art collection touch the lives of many more people. All those who enjoy SMK automatically support the work done on making the museum an even bigger part of the world of which we are all part. Individually and as a community.