It is as sublime as it is quirky; it is as beautiful as it is enigmatic; it has a priceless collection worth billions, yet it is on the edge of bankruptcy. It is the Barnes’ Collection.
Albert Barnes, who was born in Philadelphia in 1872, the son of a butcher, graduated from Penn and became a medical doctor. In 1902 with a German partner he created a patented medicine, Argyrol, which made a fortune for him; and in 1912, he began collecting works of the great impressionist artists. In the end, he had collected more than 180 works of Renoir, 69 of Cezanne, and 60 of Matisse; his collection included works of Modigliani, Monet, Picasso, Miro, and many others.
The number of works is certainly impressive, but much more so is the quality of the collection. At a time (early 20th Century) when the Impressionists were being universally scorned by the art establishment, he recognized qualities which a Century later are revered.
His unconventional approach to collecting and the then-controversial nature of his collection caused him to be insulted and snubbed by the reigning leaders of the art community especially in Philadelphia; but his genius is unsullied, and he has vastly eclipsed all of his detractors. In his specially-built gallery and adjoining arboretum on Latches Lane in Lower Merion the region (and the world) has a cultural gem which is as precious as its survival is precarious.
Both because he was routinely ignored and insulted, he gave us this magnificent gift and then created conditions which severely limited its accessibility. By the terms of his will and the Foundation charter he permitted only a handful of visitors to the Museum which also serves as an art school. So difficult was it to gain admission that the Pennsylvania Attorney General petitioned the Orphans’ Court of Montgomery County (the Court which deals in estate matters) to increase the number of permitted attendees, arguing that since the Foundation enjoyed a tax-free status, it was quasi-public and should therefore be available to a broader audience. The Attorney General’s success hardly meant that the flood-gates were open; today admission is strictly limited to only 1200 visitors per week.
One of the limitations which has nothing to do with Dr. Barnes’ will is the location of the property; it is in the middle of one of the more expensive neighborhoods of the Main Line, and parking is severely limited. The Foundation’s problems with its neighbors have persisted for decades.
So it is, that the Foundation with a priceless collection cannot pay its operational bills and literally is near bankruptcy which conceivably could cause a liquidation of this unique trove. There is distress both in and out of the community; the Foundation has been forced, tin cup in hand, to seek help and has gotten it from various art groups all over the world. But these bits and pieces are barely keeping the Museum afloat and are hardly a permanent solution.
Recently a dramatic proposal has been made to relocate the collection to a new building to be located on Philadelphia’s Benjamin Franklin Parkway which is already a rich center of cultural institutions: the Art Museum (with its beautiful annex soon to open), the Rodin Museum, the soon to be built Calder Museum, the Franklin Institute, the Academy of Natural Sciences, and the great Philadelphia Library. And only a few blocks off the Parkway is the remarkable Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts which is also about to add a ten-story annex. The thought of the Barnes Collection in the midst of it all has art-enthusiasts agog, so much so that it seems a major portion of the $150 million needed for the project has already been pledged. The pledges, however, carry a condition that the donors would have a major voice in choosing trustees of the Barnes Foundation; this would diminish the role of Lincoln University which presently has the right to appoint a majority of the trustees.
Perfect, yes? Not quite. There is a small obstacle or two, starting with Dr. Barnes’ will which mandates that his works will be displayed only in their present location in the same position they were in when he died. Although the trustees of the Foundation heartily endorse this move, the trustees of Lincoln University who choose a majority of the Foundation trustees are opposed because of the diminishment of their role in appointing trustees of the Foundation. As are several others in the art community who see deserting the Latches Lane site as a desecration of Dr. Barnes’ memory; they see it as a grand scheme of the very people, the art establishment, for whom Dr. Barnes had nothing but disdain.
The Foundation has petitioned the Orphans’ Court to intervene, once again. The Court will have to weigh the specter of financial collapse and the possible ultimate dispersal of this wonderful collection against the explicit instructions of the man who created it all. How’s that for drama?
— Ken Butera