To join American Friends of Nationalmuseum, Sweden, is to step into a transatlantic community of patrons, collectors, and cultural leaders. Join today and help to ensure that great art continues to travel, inspire, and connect audiences across borders.
Find out more about membershipFounded in 2017, American Friends of the Nationalmuseum (AFNS) is an independent U.S.-based foundation created to strengthen and expand the reach of the Nationalmuseum of Sweden—established in 1792 and today recognized as one of Europe’s leading museums of art and design.
American Friends of the Nationalmuseum is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. All contributions are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by U.S. law.
A bridge between nations
AFNS brings together art lovers, collectors, and philanthropists in the United States who wish to engage with this cultural legacy and ensure its continued relevance on a global stage. Acting as cultural ambassadors, AFNS build bridges between Sweden and the United States through exhibitions, loans, acquisitions, scholarships, and research exchanges.
Through American Friends, Nationalmuseum and its collections extends into the United States. Exhibitions, loans, and collaborations make it possible for American audiences to encounter Swedish masterpieces up close, while also enabling American art to be celebrated in Sweden. In this way, AFNS acts as a living bridge between two nations, ensuring that great art continues to travel, inspire, and connect people across borders.
AFNS’s role in the United States
American Friends of Nationalmuseum plays a vital role in bringing the cultural treasures of Sweden and the United States closer together. AFNS supports projects that would not be possible without international collaboration and donor engagement:
- Exhibitions in the U.S. – presenting Swedish art and design to new audiences across leading American museums.
- Exhibitions in Sweden – creating opportunities for American art and design to be showcased at the Nationalmuseum in Stockholm.
- Art donations and acquisitions – facilitating the transfer, loan, and acquisition of significant works for future generations.
- Scholarships and research – funding exchanges, residencies, and publications that deepen scholarship and strengthen curatorial expertise.
Through these initiatives, AFNS ensures that art is not only preserved but actively shared across borders – enriching audiences, advancing knowledge, and strengthening cultural ties between two nations.
Board and leadership
AFNS is guided by an esteemed board that brings together leaders from business, culture, and diplomacy, ensuring the foundation remains credible, visionary, and impactful:
- David Dangoor, Chairman
- Patrick Amsellem, Director General, Nationalmuseum, Sweden
- Barbara Wennerholm, President SACC
- Barbro Osher, Honorary Consul
- Erik Ullenhag, Consul General of Sweden in New York
- Anders Holst
…together with representatives from the Consulate General of Sweden in New York, the Swedish American Chamber of Commerce in New York, and the Nationalmuseum in Stockholm.