>Anyone happen to know the URL for The Hermitage in St. Petersburg, Russia?

An expectation that all prestigious museums would have created their own
website (in this day and age) is bound to be disappointed.
About 3 years ago, very few museums were on the WEB, now many many museums
are on the WEB but not ALL by any means.

>I've gone through the ususal channels (various web browsers) without any real
>success. . . . nothing that would
>allow me to preview the artwork on display.

The Hermitage is definitely one of the top museum wonders of the world -
and sadly it should not be expected to have a WEB site, let alone scanned
images of the artworks on display. It operates on a woefully insufficient
budget, and in the present Russian economy, is not likely to receive needed
funds from the government. There are tremendous economic needs for a
collection of this magnitude and caliber, just in conservation, and
cataloguing and keeping the building maintained.  The Getty, ICOM and some
other organizations outside of Russia are providing support but it will
require a huge investment of resources over a long period ot time.
Anyone know of other efforts - or support groups?

You said you would like to "preview" the work - a good travel agent who
specializes in Russian tours could probably tell you if there are any
special exhibitions presently.  Tour books on Russia will usually also have
some mention of the items in the museum, sometimes images, but that won't
garantee what will be on view on any particular day.

PS. If you are going there - remember that the admission charge for
foriegners is also an important means of support for the museum.  I heard
some Western travellers whining when I was there that the Russians were
paying about 5 cents while they had to pay over twelve dollars.  I was
surprized at the "high" price but ended up spending the whole day there -
an aesthetic oasis that would have been a bargain at triple the price!



Claire Pillsbury
Exhibit Developer
Tech Museum of Innovation;145 West San Carlos; San Jose, CA, 95113; USA
PH 408-279-7136,        FAX 408-279-7197