The Art of the Steal

Dr. Albert C. Barnes (1872-1951) was an unconventional millionaire: from modest beginnings, he studied to be a physician and made his fortune developing Argyrol, an antiseptic silver compound. Without a formal art history background, Barnes began collecting impressionist and post-impressionist paintings, when most museums had dismissed the work as unimportant. Progressive and innovative in his thinking, his diverse interests included early decorative arts, spiritual music, and African tribal and Native American crafts. All told, his collection includes an astonishing 181 Renoirs, 59 Matisses, 46 Picassos and 69 Cezannes as well as many other superb pieces. Today, the collection has been valued at $25 billion by capable number crunchers, although others call it priceless.

Barnes built a gallery in the suburbs of Philadelphia to house his artwork, and established an educational institution that would truly benefit from study of his collection. With education his primary focus, along with his dislike of Philadelphia aristocracy, access to his foundation's galleries was severely restricted. In his will (Barnes married, but had no children), he clearly stipulated that the collection never be loaned, moved or sold. A trust was established to maintain and protect the collection in perpetuity. The will also outlined that future decisions regarding the school and other matters would be determined by a small board, controlled by the black college, Lincoln University. Since his death in 1951, through careful orchestration by an assembly of lawyers, government officials and businessmen, the board was overruled, the collection was loaned, and by 2012 will be moved, permanently on display in the heart of Philadelphia.

In the documentary film, The Art of the Steal, directed by Don Argott, the bureaucratic scandal to wrestle the Barnes Foundation paintings from their original home to a new structure on the Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia, is less about bringing art to the people as it is about honoring a man's wishes, and his legacy.

On their website, visitors are informed that 5 out of 24 galleries have already closed in preparation for the move, but over 2000 works remain on display. In one gallery shown in the film, African tribal masks and metalwork are displayed near a Picasso painting, to illustrate how the artist was influenced by other cultures. For me, it's just that sort of detail and thoughtfulness that brings life to an exhibit. I'd like to see the collection as Barnes intended, and time is running out.