A compelling polemic by Philly-based Don Argott, The Art of the Steal looks at the bitter, decades-long fight over the Barnes Foundation and its singular, $25-billion-dollar art collection.
Created in 1922 by Albert C. Barnes, an early 20th-century industrialist and voracious art collector whose bio reads like Horatio Alger, the Barnes Foundation made its Merion, Pennsylvania home a mecca for aesthetes, with eyefuls of brand-name paintings (i.e. 181 Renoirs, 69 Cézannes, 59 Matisses, 46 Picassos) and only-here ephemera such as Native American ceramics. Barnes passed away in 1951, but his will declared that the works never be loaned, moved, or sold — that is until a few powerful figures in Philly saw the dollar signs in the impressionistic swirls.
Argott employs gabbing partisans, graphics, and archival footage to present a case that continues to open fault lines in the art world.
Learn more about the Barnes Foundation, read the New York Times profile, and check out a Filmmaker interview with Argott.
The Art of the Steal is an IFC film in limited release. It’s currently playing in New York, and will be available at theaters in Los Angeles beginning March 12. Check it out in Chicago at Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art and Block Cinema on March 10.
Comments (2)
I never liked the Barnes’ cluttered presentation of its vast collection as the stacking of paintings, sculpture and handiworks nearly on top of each other stripped away much of the beauty of the individual pieces. My gripe, was Barnes’ inspiration and desire. My understanding of the Barnes’ history is that there was great antipathy from the neighbors to the museum’s tours which limited attendance and revenues. I also seem to recall that there financial management issues which led to the loaning out of works to alleviate financial desperation. The Barnes’ Trust explicitly prohibited the lending of works or the moving of the collection. However, the Trust did not anticipate the financial challenges the Barnes Foundation would face over the past twenty years. The trailer and title of the film convey an image of a mugging when the reality is more like a once-wealthy senior who has outlived his or her fortune.
i heartily disagree with the previous poster. i visited the barnes collection this past fall and it was a treat like no other. to get to not only see these works, but to see the original curator’s work was special. i have seen so much impressionist paintings all over the world, but i have never seen them displayed in a way that takes into account their composition as well as subject matter. which, by the way, is still going to be the way they are displayed in the new gener-a-museum. and on top of that the buildings and property are amazing. the only reason that i can see for them having financial difficulties are that they do not know how to mine the gem that they have. one end of one of the buildings overlooks the gorgeous grounds with a terrace and giant windows. what is inside those windows? furniture storage.
there are a plethora of quality museums throughout the world that are much farther removed from metropolitan centers than the barnes, you don’t see them all moving do you? and if you are going to go against the wishes of the founder, what kind of precedent is that? how will this effect the decisions of major art collectors in the future?
the moving of the barnes is a sad sad story.
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