Beauty of the Barnes


After years of efforts to resolve financial problems (or some say years of scandal—see the documentary The Art of the Steal), the famous Barnes Foundation will (as of May 19, 2012) relocate to a new site—on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway in the heart of Phili—from it’s historic home in the suburb of Merion.

It was founded in 1922 by Albert C. Barnes, a chemist who collected art after making a fortune by co-developing an antimicrobial drug. Today, the foundation (curated by Barnes himself) possesses more than 2,500 objects—including 800 paintings—estimated to be worth about $25 billion.
Here are some of my favorites.