The Barnes Foundation: Challenging the Narrative

In this, the Barnes Museum’s centennial year, the art community can look back in awe at all that the museum has undergone and has continued to maintain an impressive international footprint. The Barnes Foundation was the creation of one man, Albert C. Barnes, who set out to amass a collection representative of a variety of nations, genres and mediums. He was not born wealthy but attended Central High School and worked his way through University of Pennsylvania Medical School in the 1890s. He turned to research and with a partner created a drug called Argyrol that made him wealthy by the age of 35. In 1908 he became sole owner of his company and instituted a 6-hour workday, a racial and gender integrated workforce, and a 2-hour daily optional education program. 

Barnes true first love was art but he felt that he would never be fully accepted into Philadelphia’s art world. In 1910 he turned that love of art into amassing a collection of artworks. He chose painters Alfred Maurer and William Glackens to travel to Paris and purchase paintings for him. They were given $20,000 ($350,000 today) and returned with 30 paintings by artists such as Cezanne, Renoir and van Gogh. Barnes later decided to travel to Europe to make his own purchases and he was prolific. From 1922-23 he purchased more than 100 Impressionist, Post-Impressionist, Modern and African material cultural artworks including pieces by Modigliani, Picasso and Matisse. barnesfoundation.org

    In 1922 Barnes established an educational foundation, he did not consider it a museum, and in 1925 he opened his newly constructed neoclassical mansion and 12-acre arboretum in Merion, a suburb of Philadelphia, as its headquarters and home to his extensive collection displaying European art along with Native American, American, African decorative arts and furniture. His primary goals were to make art accessible to all and promote social justice and educational opportunity for the masses. He hired professors to provide free lectures at the foundation and allowed access to school groups and interested individuals. 

Albert Barnes challenged not only what is considered artistic and who should have access to art but also ways art can be perceived. He displayed his artworks in what he referred to as ensembles. In these arrangements he mixed works from varying eras, cultures and genres inviting viewers to make connections according to style, color and shape. Paintings are identified solely by the name of the artist. Dates and explanatory information is not listed. 

Barnes is considered one of the first individuals to collect and display African art as not merely ethnographic collectables. He deemed African art as representative of the “highest form of 3-dimensional expression” and was involved in the Harlem Renaissance as a promoter of the preservation of African arts and artists through his writings and conversations with African American intellectuals. Horace Bond, Lincoln University’s first African American president, developed a close friendship and working relationship with Barnes in the 1940s. Realizing the significant challenges the all black university faced he developed specialized art programs and invited students for visits. In his will he specifically added a clause that “racist” universities were barred from admission to his collection. 

Unique rules controlled the collection even after his death in 1951. The number of visitors was restricted and no copies of the works were to be duplicated on mugs, postcards or photos or other gift shop type objects. The works themselves were never to be moved from their original gallery positions, nor could they be individually sold or placed on loan.

Almost immediately after his death the City of Philadelphia challenged his will claiming that the art should benefit everyone. In 2009, after extensive litigation, the city seized the artworks, now worth approximately $25-bllion. The battle over the collection is detailed in a documentary, The Art of the Steal. In 2012 the collection was moved to a new, $150-million building on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia. The 4.5-acre complex includes classrooms, additional exhibition space, an atrium and a public park. At its heart is a replica of the original Barnes Foundation building featuring galleries and displays exactly as they were in Merion. Artworks have been positioned with no object more than 1/2-inch from its former placement.

The museum functions as a stunning setting for the largest collection of impressionist art in the world including 179 Renoirs and 69 Cezanne’s. Visitors can be overwhelmed by the more than 4,000 rare artworks but you should seek out:

• "Bathing Group" (Renoir)

• "The Dance" (Matisse)

•  "The Card Players" (Cézanne)

• “The Postman” (Vincent van Gogh)

• “Redheaded Girl in Evening Dress” (Modigliani)

• “Dr. Albert C. Barnes” (Giorgio de Chirico)

Until September 4, 2022, as part of the Barnes Centennial celebration, and in keeping with the spirit of challenging the artistic narrative and inclusivity, the foundation has commissioned a film installation by artist and filmmaker Sir Isaac Julien, CBE RA. Isaac Julien: Once Again … (Statues Never Die) is a five-screen installation that delves into the philosophical relationship between Albert Barnes, as a collector of African art, and Alain Locke, African American scholar, author and creator of the concept of the New Negro. Through dialog and reenactments Sir Julien revisits how the African American art was obtained, black artists creating their art in other cultures and what is the meaning for and the impact of African art on western culture. The looting of Benin in 1897 provides a contemplative background for the modern concept of reparations. The film is both artistically arresting and thought provoking. Accompanying the film will be significant African art sculptures.

Albert Barnes art collection is of international importance and through these works modernism entered the Western World. He surrounded himself with beauty, cultivated friendships from all cultures and promoted the importance of art as education. He shaped his own narrative and we are all the better for it. @barnesfoundation

“That is one of the joys of a collection, the elasticity with which paintings stretch to the beholder’s personal vision which they progressively develop.” Albert C. Barnes

Richmond, VA: Convergence

                   In 1607, immediately after the founding of Jamestown, the English sailed as far as possible upriver to an area made impassable by the rapids at the fall line of the James River. The site was the location of a native village that was ruled by a  “werowance”, who was probably a relative of Powhatan. Thirty years later a trading post was established and in 1645 the colony’s militia erected Fort Charles.

                  Colonel William Byrd II inherited land at this place on the James River and in 1737 he founded Richmond. He named his settlement after a town in England where the Thames River bends and it strongly resembled his city. Richmond is an independent city because it is not part of any Virginia county and that independent spirit has been apparent since its earliest days. It has always been a place where new, forward thinking and alternative ideas and institutions take root. @visitrichmond

Early convergences of philosophies and ideals regarding the country’s direction occurred nationally throughout the 1800s with Richmond at its center. Richmond was chosen as the new capital of Virginia in 1780 because Williamsburg was considered too vulnerable to British attack. A colonial-style state capitol was erected 1785-88, designed by Thomas Jefferson and modeled after the 16 BC La Maison Carrée ancient Roman Temple in Nimes, France. Public tours grant access to the areas where Aaron Burr was tried for treason, Robert E. Lee accepted command of the VA forces and the Confederate Congress met. Created as the House of Burgesses in Jamestown in 1619, Virginia is considered to have the oldest continuous legislative body in this hemisphere. 

The nearby White House of the Confederacy was the home and headquarters of Confederate President Jefferson Davis from 1861-65. The mansion was built in 1818 and in 1861 the city purchased the furnished house as a gift to Davis. He refused and the confederacy then rented the home for his use. Here he met with his generals and cabinet until April 2, 1865 when fear of approaching Union forces caused him to abandon it. Lincoln visited the home on April 3^rd.

Davis’ staff consisted of a minimum of 20 slaves, several of which fled servitude while working there. The servants were both rented and owned. Mary Bowser, educated in the North, returned to VA to serve in the Confederate White House as part of a Union spy ring, She played the role of an uneducated black domestic and conveyed crucial information to her contact. Virtual and in-person tours are offered. 

Museums have always been the keepers of our history and Richmond’s museums have always accomplished this skillfully. The American Civil War Museum is a complex of three museums, two located in Richmond, the American Civil War Museum at Historic Tredegar Iron Works and the White House of the Confederacy and the American Civil War Museum in Appomattox, VA. In 2013 the Museum of the Confederacy and the American Civil War Museum merged and in 2019 a new facility was opened to house both collections. This architecturally stunning structure was built within the existing walls of the iron works. The museum was the first to examine the Civil War across race, gender and nationality in a holistic way. Galleries are chronological and incorporate videos, photographs, memorabilia and greater than 500 artifacts. It was the country’s first major museum to acknowledge that slavery was the primary cause of he Civil War.  #ACWM

After an 18-month renovation the Virginia Museum of History and Culture reopened with 50% more exhibition space, 12 galleries, an outstanding 16-minute orientation film and exhibits that reflect the unique diversity that is Virginia. “Our Commonwealth”, the first exhibit, gives historical background and overview of the 5 major regions. “The Lost Cause” is a cutting-edge gallery that delves into the creation and endorsement of the ideology of the heroic and justified Confederate cause. Exhibits include artwork and artifacts that advanced this alternative history. The VMHC is phenomenal and not to be missed. #VMHC

                  America’s first state supported museum, as well as the country’s only museum open 365 days a year, is the Virginia Museum of Fine Art. The museum presents 6,000 years of world history through 50,000 works of art. It boasts one of the largest comprehensive collections and is one of top ten comprehensive art museums in the world.  You can easily spend the day here starting with the outdoor sculpture garden and Kehinde Wiley’s “Rumors of War”. One of the premier exhibits showcases the largest collection of Fabergé artworks outside of Russia. The “Beyond the Label” audio tour is available to enhance your visit. #VMFA

Wickham House was built in 1812 for attorney John Wickham. The Federal-style mansion became home to the family and at least 20 enslaved Africans. Mann Valentine II purchased the estate in 1882 and it became his home and a showcase for his private historic artifact and artwork collections. In 1898 a museum was established, now Richmond’s oldest private museum, with funds and art left by Mann in his will. The facility is inclusive of the Wickham House and galleries all dedicated to preserving and explaining the history of Richmond. House tours give us a glimpse of 19^th-century life. The renowned textile collection, 30,000 pieces, contains items made in Virginia. 

A real gem here is the studio of Edward Valentine, a prominent sculptor most noted for his Recumbent Lee statue on Washington & Lee University campus. The studio is one of four extant 19^th-century studios that offer tours.  The statue of Jefferson Davis is on temporary display at the Valentine Museum. The Davis statue was erected in 1907 on Monument Avenue and pulled down by protesters on June 10, 2020. It is now on display for at least 6 months while on loan from the Black History Museum & Cultural Center of Virginia (BHMVA).  www.thevalentine.org

                  The riches of Richmond and the convergence of old and new are found throughout the city and across venues. The Richmond Beer Trail was inaugurated in April 2016 and features nearly 40 breweries. A map notes those that are pet friendly. Make five stops on the trail and earn specialty gear. 

                  Hatch Local Food Hall showcases local restaurants. Tables inside and out and a play area make it family friendly. It is in the revitalized Manchester section of the city near the beginning of the Richmond Slave Trail. Ancarrow’s Landing was the slave ship docking port and from there the trail is 3-miles long.

ZZQ is a mandatory stop for a tasteful convergence of slow cooked barbeque and Texas food craftsmanship. Experience industrial chic décor and a casual atmosphere while enjoying barbeque and sides that will make lingering memories. It was named one of the 41 best BBQ restaurants in America. www.zzqrva.com

Dining and diversion meet in the unique and historic Hotel Greene. Guests dine in the restored lobby while waiting for their turn to play miniature golf throughout the rooms of the hotel. While golfing the team plays down corridors and in guestrooms encountering peepholes and other guests as they play through. 

Richmond is the ideal destination be your interest in history or more contemporary sites. Lose yourself in Richmond and find yourself delighted. #VisitRichmondVa