Dresden Sends Art Across the Atlantic

In a landmark exhibition the city of Dresden is to send a massive collection of priceless art across the Atlantic to Jackson, Mississippi. In the first such exhibition in the States since German unification, the Dresden State Art Collection will be showing a stunning selection of works from eight of its public museums. The exhibition entitled “The Glory of Baroque Dresden” will contain 700 exhibits, including paintings, porcelain, jewellery, weapons, textiles, furniture, drawings and sculptures. The collection will include works by a number of great masters including Rembrandt, Rubens and Vermeer. The historic treasures survived the 1945 firebombing which nearly destroyed the city of Dresden after they were hidden in outlying locations. Once discovered, however, they were secured by the Red Army and transported to Russia, where they remained until 1958, when the Soviet government returned them to Dresden. A spokesman for the exhibition told the DPA news agency that German Chanellor Gerhard Schröder was expected to travel to the opening of the show. He added that he also expected U.S. President George Bush to attend.