Hello everyone! Pam Sanderlin here blogging on a wonderful all-day tour to the Barnes Foundation in Philadelphia. The day provided an extraordinary experience from two perspectives—first, hearing the intriguing story of Dr. Albert Barnes who amassed this surprising collection, and second, viewing the fabulous galleries of art that he created over his lifetime. The collection is comprised of hundreds of paintings and other art, that you have not seen before—in person—unless you have visited the actual museum or stood in line for the one world tour that much of the collection was on in the mid-1990’s. Barnes’ wish was that the art be reserved largely for educational purposes in his home museum, with limited public access. But the story of intrigue and politics that followed his death in 1951 recounts how Barnes’ wishes, specified in his will and the trust he created, have been whittled away over time by people interested in power and money over art. More about that later…
The day began with an introduction to Albert Barnes by our learned guide Ursula Wolfman who described his impoverished childhood, how he put himself through medical school, and the source of his wealth. He and a partner developed a silver-based compound called Algyrol that protected newborns from several ills, and without viable competing products, they made a fortune quickly. As early as 1912, Barnes began acquiring art, with a focus on post-impressionist and modern painters. He became friends with many of the artists and years later Matisse came and painted a spectacular mural, called The Dance, in Barnes’ home.
In the 1920’s Barnes put on an exhibition of his growing collection, which was criticized severely and universally panned by the Philadelphia art establishment. The artists represented in the exhibit were Renoir, Picasso, Van Gogh, Matisse, and several other now-revered artists. This major snub set the stage for Barnes’ ongoing distrust of this group and his desire to remain apart from them—and to keep his art separate from their museums.
Barnes built a lovely mansion in Merion outside Philadelphia and displayed his art on the walls in each room in a unique fashion, called an ensemble. Paintings, metalwork items and furniture are all displayed together and you might see a Matisse or several Renoirs together with metal hinges, candlesticks, or a kitchen utensil, and furniture—chairs or often a Pennsylvania Dutch chest. The ensembles, each one crafted by Dr. Barnes himself, are meant to draw out visual similarities between objects we generally don’t think of together. Barnes used them as teaching tools and he reserved the majority of open time in the museum for training classes, many of which he taught.
We arrived at the museum, a nondescript gray building in the middle of Philadelphia, and after another brief and informative introduction to the collection by a museum expert, we freely wandered through the 23 galleries, our eyes wide at seeing so many stunning artworks. There are 181 Renoirs, more than in any other collection in the world, 69 Cezannes, 59 Matisses, and 46 Picassos, not to mention the Degas, Van Goghs, Seurats, and Monets… The ensembles are fascinating, with African and oriental art mixed in with everything else—whatever Barnes felt went together. He drew designs of what the walls should include and changed them frequently—his designs are iconic—one is even depicted in metal on a wall in one of the gardens.
After a delicious 3-course lunch in a private room at the museum, we resumed our walk through the galleries. Touring the rooms is described by many as an intimate experience—you can get close to the paintings and everything is displayed on a warm background of cream, woven material that sets off the art work. There are no big labels or plaques identifying artists or paintings—they are there for your eyes to enjoy. The displays are in small-ish rooms and are done exactly as Barnes left them in 1951 when he died suddenly in a car accident at the age of 70.
Unfortunately, although the art is arranged as he left it, the whole collection has been moved from his beautiful home in Merion to this new museum, literally over Barnes’ dead body. Ever since his death, various ambitious people have chipped away at the will—the value of the collection today is estimated at $25 billion. One result is the move of the collection. Another is that where Barnes’ priority was to use his collection as a teaching tool and reserve time for students and classes, there are no classes in the new museum and the collection is open to the public full time. Barnes also wanted the collection to remain private—no paintings were to be lent out or even depicted in color—and it is now controlled by “the art establishment.” It is likely the paintings will start to be lent out, and in fact this may already be happening— there were several places where a note replaced a painting on the wall.
On our trip home on the bus, we watched the film, “The Art of the Steal”, which tells the sad story of what has happened with the collection since Barnes died. It is a lesson in how you can’t control anything forever after you die.
I can’t emphasize enough how remarkable this day was or how much I would encourage you to see the Barnes Foundation collection if you have the opportunity. To actually lay your eyes on works you have never seen is quite wonderful—and such resplendent works!