The Freud House in London is planned to open as a museum during the summer of 1986, the 130th anniversary of Sigmund Freud's birth. The house, at 20 Maresfield Gardens in Hampstead, contains all of Freud's belongings which were brought from Vienna in 1938. In fulfilling the goal of creating a living memorial, a museum program will encourage and sustain study and interpretation of psychoanalysis, psychology and psychiatry, the disciplines which Freud influenced so profoundly. The museum also will endure as a memorial to the generation of refugees who, like Sigmund Freud, emigrated to free societies from Hitler's Germany.
A prestigious committee composed of pre-eminent mental health professionals is directing the international campaign to establish the Freud Museum. Joining them are leaders in a number of related fields, who share a belief in the importance of Sigmund Freud and his life work. The Freud Museum Campaign Committee chairman and co-chairmen are currently as follows:
Chairman:
Albert J. Solnit, M.D.
U.S. Co-Chairmen:
Peter B. Neubauer, M.D.
George H. Pollock, M.D., Ph.D.
Robert S. Wallerstein, M.D.
U.S. Honorary Co-Chairmen:
Erik H. Erikson
Phyllis Greenacre, M.D.
Karl Menninger, M.D.
International Co-Chairmen:
Prof. Reimer Jensen (Denmark)
Moses Laufer, Ph.D. (Great Britain)
Serge Lebovici, M.D. (France)
Adam Limentani, M.D. (Great Britain)
Harald Leupold-Löwenthal, M.D. (Austria)
Wolfgang Loch, M.D. (West Germany)
André Lussier, Ph.D. (Canada)
Inga Villarreal, M.D. (South America)
International Honorary Co-Chairman:
Jeanne Lampl de Groot, M.D. (Holland)
In May 1938, Sigmund Freud wrote from Vienna to his yougest son Ernst, who had already emigrated to London: “Two prospects keep me going in these grim times: to rejoin you all and—to die in freedom … Compared to being liberated nothing is of any importance.” The following month, Sigmund Freud, his wife Martha and his daughter Anna left Vienna as refugees from the Nazi tyranny to settle in London. Freud later wrote to H.G. Wells to explain his choice of haven: “Indeed, you cannot have known that since I first came over to England as a boy of 18 years, it became an intense wish phantasy of mine to settle in this country and become an Englishman.”
Freud's attachment to England and his appreciation of its people, so clearly apparent in his correspondence, add to the Freud Museum's significance and appropriateness. To Princess Marie Bonaparte, his former pupil and a noted analyst, he wrote: “it is the only country we can live in …”, and to his brother Alexander: “This England … is … a blessed, a happy country…our reception was cordial beyond words … In short, for the first time and late in life I have experienced what it is to be famous.” The relief and contentment Sigmund Freud found in his new surroundings were important factors in his daughter's desire to establish the museum in London.
Soon after arriving in England, Freud and his family moved to No. 20 Maresfield Gardens in Hampstead, a residential suburb in north-west London. The spacious Queen Anne revival house became the refuge where Sigmund Freud continued his work until his death in September 1939, and where his daughter Anna lived for another 43 years. In the late 1970's, The Sigmund Freud Archives purchased the house, with funds provided by the New-Land Foundation.
Referring to his new residence, Sigmund Freud wrote to Princess Marie Bonaparte: “The house is very beautiful.” As it is preserved today, 20 Maresfield Gardens bears the indelible imprint of Sigmund Freud's personality. Transferred there from Vienna was his large and extraordinary library, his correspondence, his carpets and furniture, and his rich and important assemblage of classical Greek, Roman, Egyptian, and Chinese antiquities.
The house and its historic contents remain intact, just as Sigmund and Anna Freud left them. At its heart is Sigmund Freud's study, lined with books, and containing the famous couch, on which a new science and a new understanding had been pioneered. Had this remarkable collection not been rescued from occupied Vienna, it would almost certainly have been lost to posterity. The outside wall of the red brick, freestanding house bears a prized blue plaque, bestowed by the local Borough, distinguishing 20 Maresfield Gardens as an historic building and identifying it as the residence of Freud. The house has been described as “a moving and intimate personal recollection of one of the greatest minds of the past century.”
Shortly after Anna Freud's death in 1982, a zoning application was submitted to the London Borough of Camden for the conversion of 20 Maresfield Gardens into a museum. In the spring of 1984 these plans were officially approved.
The spirit of these plans is to keep as much of the house as possible in its original state in order to show visitors how the Freuds lived and worked. This will, incidentally, avoid duplication of the smaller museum at Bergasse 19, Freud's home in Vienna, which, lacking the personal possessions that are the treasure of Freud's Hampstead home, presents a chronological history of Freud's life and the discipline of psychoanalysis. Thus, Freud's study, the dining-room, the impressive stair-hall considered by architectural historians to be the most notable feature of the house, and the landing will remain undisturbed. The large and attractive garden, so important to the Freuds, will also adhere to the concept of a ‘house museum’.
The museum displays will inform visitors of Freud's discoveries, theories and achievements, and review their widespread influence on our society.
As well as serving as a memorial to Sigmund Freud, the museum will function as a cultural and research center. Plans are currently being developed for a substantive museum program, which will provide a center of focus for the professional community. Proposed elements of the program include: a research fellowship-in-residence; lecture series and seminars; mounting of special exhibits; occasional travelling exhibits to promote the goals and educational function of the Freud Museum beyond 20 Maresfield Gardens; special events, tours and programs designed for visiting professionals and scholars; and a publication to provide information on the museum's purposes and activities and on scientific contributions to the field of mental health.
The museum will be staffed by a curator, a part-time assistant, and a caretaker. The curator, David L. Newlands, was appointed in the summer of 1985. His previous experience has proved particularly helpful in developing plans for the new museum.
Discussions with the staff of other house museums in London and the museum at Bergasse 19 in Vienna indicate that at least 30,000 visitors per year can be expected to visit the Freud
Museum, with about one-third coming from the U.S.
Renovation and preparation of the house is now in progress. It is anticipated that the construction work will be completed in late 1985. At that time the process of documenting and cataloging the contents of the house and setting up displays will begin so that the museum is ready for its opening in the summer of 1986.
The Freud Museum represents, therefore, a unique opportunity to participate in a great museum venture. Its realization will require the support of those who share a belief in the importance of Sigmund Freud and his life work, and the principles he represents. In this context, the commitment of the professional community is particularly crucial.
The goal of this campaign is $2.0 million. Following the fundraising effort to secure this amount, the museum will be entirely self-sustaining. Of the total to be raised, $500,000 is sought from the professional community: psychoanalysts, psychologists, and psychiatrists. The remainder will be requested from foundations, corporations, and individuals sympathetic to the aims and purposes of the Freud Museum.
Funds raised will be applied in three main ways:
Renovation and conversion, costing $800,000.
Preparation and start-up expenses, costing $400,000. (This includes program development and costs incurred in carrying the house until the opening of the museum.)
Establishment of an endowment, costing $800,000. The endowment income will contribute towards the annual operating costs of the museum.
Suitable commemorative opportunities are available for those foundations, corporations, and individuals wishing to make a designated gift to the Freud Museum. Financial support may be scheduled over a period of one, two, or three years.
Early this summer, a mailing was sent out to members of the American Psychoanalytic Association and others, seeking contacts, participation in local events, financial support, and any other help that could be offered. Those wishing to take part in this unique project should contact: John Harrisson, Director, International Campaign for the Freud Museum, Suite 3014, 200 Park Avenue, New York, New York 10166.