I recently had the pleasure of watching a compelling documentary The Art of the Steal (2009). Unless you live in the greater Philadelphia area or are a die-hard Post-Impressionist fan, you may have never heard of the Barnes Foundation. The exquisite collection of Dr. Alfred Barnes has sparked great controversy between the final will and estate of Dr. Alfred Barnes and the determination of a group of politicians after recognition for themselves and their cities. I highly recommend this documentary as it deals with the facts that non-profit backing can indeed help an institution while at the same time those involved may have detrimental underlying motives.
Dr. Alfred Barnes (1872-1951) gained his fame and fortune creating a drug that prevented gonorrheal blindness in newborns and used it to assemble the most significant collection of Impressionist, Post-Impressionist and Modernist works of art, that many at the time thought were distasteful, unartistic and scandalous compared to art of the Romanticism era during the late 19th century. With a keen eye for art, Barnes began collecting Vincent van Gough, Henri Toulouse-Lautrec, Paul Cezanne, Georges Seurat and more, becoming friends with many of the artists and traveling the world developing his concepts of for institution of learning.
The Smoker (La Fumeur)
1888
Oil on canvas
The Barnes Foundation was established in 1922 with strict guidelines placed by Barnes to ensure that the foundation was run more like a school than a museum. With limited public access, his foundation was able uphold its institutional purpose for the study and teaching of his collection. In his final will, Barnes clearly stated these rules and as anyone would, imagined that long after his death his wishes would be granted and that future scholars would still be roaming the impressive rooms he worked for and developed with a passion.
During the mid-1990's as blockbuster museum exhibitions became the rage and a small part of his collection went on a world tour, fans by the thousands poured into the quiet Philadelphia suburb that housed the Barnes Foundation for so many years. Seeing the monetary opportunities for the the Philadelphia museum, the city of Philadelphia, and the fame that would ensue, nonprofit agencies and even the directors of the museum banded together to uproot the Barnes Foundation and the will of Dr. Alfred Barnes to continue his mission in education of the arts. Although this movie fights for the will of Barnes, it shows the intricate links between foundations and those who govern them.
(All images courtesy of the Barnes Foundation)
(All images courtesy of the Barnes Foundation)
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