Albert barnes art collection

Philadelphia, –Chester County, Pa.,

Albert Barnes was an American pharmaceutical scientist who amassed one of the largest private collections of late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century French art in the United States. His holdings also included African sculpture and folk materials, mixed with key examples of early modernism. Housed today in an institution he founded in Philadelphia, called the Barnes Foundation, the collection continues to reflect Barnes’s unique aesthetic and collecting principles.

Barnes grew up in a working-class family in Philadelphia and studied medicine at the University of Pennsylvania before moving to Germany in to study pharmaceutical chemistry. Back in Philadelphia, in , Barnes began developing an antiseptic with scientist Hermann Hille; marketed as Argyrol in the United States, the medication was used to treat infant blindness and brought Barnes great financial success. He founded his own pharmaceutical company, A.C. Barnes Company, in and just three years later, Barnes used his wealth to begin collecting art. He hired American Ashcan School painter Alfred Henry Maurer and former classmate William Glackens to buy paintings in Paris for his growing collection. The two purchased over twenty works for Barnes over the summer of , largely from Paul Durand-Ruel. Barnes traveled to Paris for the first time in , where he met Picasso and other artists through the collectors Gertrude and Leo Stein, and was introduced to contemporary French painting through the dealer Paul Guillaume (who would become Barnes’ dealer after World War I). That summer, he purchased seven works by Picasso from Daniel-Henry Kahnweiler, including Picasso’s Head of a Man and Head of a Woman (both ; Barnes Foundation, Philadelphia). His collection soon expanded to include examples of African sculpture, Native American artifacts, Old Master drawings, and American modern art. By , Barnes possessed forty-four works by Picasso, sixty works by Ma

American art collector and educator (–)

For other people named Albert Barnes, see Albert Barnes (disambiguation).

Albert Coombs Barnes (January 2, – July 24, ) was an American chemist, businessman, art collector, writer, and educator, and the founder of the Barnes Foundation in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Early life and education

Albert Coombs Barnes was born in Philadelphia on January 2, to working-class parents. His father, butcher John J. Barnes, served in the American Civil War in Company D of the 82nd Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry. He lost his right arm at the Battle of Cold Harbor. After the war John Barnes received a disability pension of $8/month, and took jobs such as inspector, night watchman, and letter carrier when he could find them. Albert Barnes' mother, Lydia A. Schaffer, was a devout Methodist who took him to African American camp meetings and revivals. The family lived first at Cook Street (now Wilt Street) in the rough working-class neighborhood of what is today Fishtown, and later in a slum area known as "the Neck" or "the Dumps".

Albert Barnes completed elementary school at William Welsh Elementary School in That year Barnes was one of two boys from his school who were accepted at Central High School, a public school highly respected for its rigorous academic program. Barnes graduated at age 17 on June 27, with an A.B. degree, part of the 92nd class. At Central, Barnes became friends with William Glackens, who later became an artist and advised Barnes on his first collecting efforts.

Barnes went on to attend medical school at the University of Pennsylvania, enrolling in September and receiving his degree

In , art collector and philanthropist Albert C. Barnes chartered the Barnes Foundation with the goal of improving the American public’s understanding and appreciation of art. In the ensuing decades, Barnes's combination of wealth and passion allowed him to assemble the world’s greatest private collection of post-impressionist and modern art. In his Pennsylvania home, he hung the paintings of Cezanne, Picasso, Renoir, and Matisse alongside African, Indigenous American, and medieval European art. Estimates of the value of the collection sit at around $25 billion USD.

When Barnes died in , his living trust made it explicit that the Barnes Foundation was to keep his collection exactly as he had left it: displayed in his private residence and available for viewing only by appointment. The trust even specified that the paintings were to remain in the exact position they had occupied in Barnes's expansive home while he was alive. Barnes had carefully planned every detail of his collection’s layout: arranging his paintings not by creator or historical period, but by shape, color, and theme. Barnes was insistent that his collection be used only for art education—seminars, school tours, and workshops for working class art enthusiasts—and not for general display. The Barnes foundation was not, according to the intentions of its creator, a museum open to the viewing public.

The arrangement changed in when a court granted a request from the Barnes Foundation’s board of trustees to move the collection from Barnes's home to a new public gallery in Philadelphia. The move drew sharp criticism from some art world figures and friends of Barnes who considered it a betrayal of the ideals of the organization’s founder. After all, the paintings belonged to Barnes, and his wishes had explicitly forbidden the transformation of his collection into a public museum with admissions fees. Some, like attorney John Anderson, accused the city of

The House of Barnes: The Man, The Collection, The Controversy is a beautifully written study of the extraordinary art collector and volatile personality Albert C. Barnes.  The book places him in the context of his own era, shedding new light on the ideas and movements (about art collecting, education, and aesthetics) that shaped so much of his thinking.

The Barnes’ major holdings of largely post-impressionist art include more than paintings, with a strong focus on Renoir ( canvases), Cézanne (69), Matisse (59), and Picasso (46 paintings and drawings). In its entirety, it is the greatest single collection of such art that has remained intact.

The last chapters of the book address the controversial events surrounding the Barnes Foundation’s move to Philadelphia, including vehement opposition—as well as strong support. There is an analysis of the Foundation’s financial plight, a review of the major court cases over the decades, and a characterization of the fervent reactions following the court’s decision to allow the move to take place.

The monograph is recommended for a broad audience, including those interested in art and art collecting, the role of art in education, and the development of cultural institutions.