Barnes Foundation

The Barnes Foundation is an educational institution and art collection that promotes appreciation of art and horticulture. The original location of the art collection was in Merion. In 2012, it moved to a new building at Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Barnes Foundation arboretum is still in Merion. It has been proposed that it be maintained under a long-term educational affiliation arrangement with Saint Joseph's University.

Albert C. Barnes founded The Barnes in 1922. He made his fortune co-developing Argyrol (an antiseptic silver compound) that was used to treat gonorrhea. His business, the A.C. Barnes Company was sold just months before 1929's stock market crash.

Henri Matisse. Still Life with Gourds (Nature Morte aux coloquintes). (1916).

The original Barnes Foundation campus is located in Merion, Pennsylvania. It now has a 12-acre arboretum that is open to the public for tours. The plant collection includes stewartia and phellodendrons, clethra and magnolia, clethra and magnolia, clethra and magnolias, viburnums, roses and hostas. The Foundation's horticulture students have access to a herbarium and horticulture literature upon request. For the general public, classes are offered in horticulture topics.

After Barnes had met Matisse in the United States he ordered The Dance II, a 45-by-15 foot triptych, which was placed above the Palladian windows in Palladian's main gallery space.

Pablo Picasso, Acrobate and Young Arlequin (1905)

The collection also includes American masters such as Titian, Paul Gauguin and El Greco. It also contains a variety African artworks, including ancient Egyptian, Greek and Roman art, Native American works, American furniture, decorative arts, and metalwork, as well as European and American furniture. The museum also has several important works by Jacques Lipchitz, a cubist sculptor.

The collection features different types of artworks, according to Barnes' methodology, in "wall ensembles", often alongside antique furniture, hand-wrought iron and jewelry. This allows for comparison and study of works from different time periods, geographical areas, and styles.

The Friends of the Barnes Foundation filed a petition in late February 2011 to reopen the case. The original hearing was scheduled for March 18 but was delayed until August 3. The court ordered the Attorney General's Office and the foundation to explain why the case should not reopen. They had been scheduled for March 18. Friends of the Barnes Foundation, an opposition group, claims that The Art of the Steal has shown that Ott didn't have all the evidence in 2006 when he approved the move of the art collection. Judge Ott ruled on October 6, 2011 that the Friends of the Barnes Foundation was not legally recognized and that there was no new information.

The Barnes Foundation kept the building in Merion as its property and used it as a storage facility. Saint Joseph's University leased the building and adjoining arboretum for $100 per year in 2018. Saint Joseph's University also agreed to pay the security and maintenance costs. The university can hang its own artworks in this gallery space thanks to the lease.

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