A Case Study on the Loss of the Barnes Foundation Essay

Case Study - The Art of the StealA short five miles away from the center of Philadelphia was the location of The Barnes Foundation. The Barnes Foundation, founded 1922 by Albert C. Barnes, consisted of many of the most valuable and important collections of Post-Impressionist art along with Early Modern art. This collection was considered to be the worlds best collection of art and was valued at a minimum of 25 billion dollars. This particular collection was so rare that massive museums throughout America did not even compare to that of the Barnes Foundation. The museum world had almost no way of acquiring paintings from Barnes as many pieces from his collection were unaffordable for museums with the potential of being unaffordable to some nations. The space in which the art was held was immaculate, consisting of colorful walls, intimately spaced rooms, with art consisting of paintings as well as pieces of furniture. One of the most important purposes of The Barnes Foundation was to educate others in the form of a school. In fear of the collection being stolen by the state as had happened to a nearby collection in the past, Barnes worked closely with his lawyers to create a will preventing this. The will included strict rules against ever relocating the collection or any of its paintings away from the original location and to serve primarily as a school for art criticism, teaching of art, and art appreciation rather than a museum open to the public. After the passing of Albert Barnes, many fought to keep the school alive and out of the hands of the public. Generations of various trustees and presidents of The Barnes Foundation passed. Richard Glanton became the president and created the idea of selling certain pieces of art in order to restore the rest of the collection. As many rejected this idea, Richard Glanton involved the Philadelphia Inquirer to visit the building in which the art was...

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