Barnes Foundation

Frommer's Review

The magnificent Barnes Foundation, just outside the city limits in suburban Merion, will enchant you with its thoroughly unique display of one of the world's most important art collections. Albert Barnes crammed his French Provincial mansion (ca. 1925) with more than 1,000 works of genius -- 181 Renoirs, 69 Cézannes, 46 Picassos, innumerable Impressionists and post-Impressionists, early moderns and a generous sampling of European art from the Italian primitives onward. Each wall is filled with recognizable masterpieces, hung, literally, from floor to ceiling. The Barnes reopened in November 1995 after a world tour of more than 80 masterworks from the collection and a $12-million renovation of the galleries.

Barnes believed that art has a quality that can be explained objectively -- for example, one curve will be beautiful and hence art, and another that's slightly different will not be art. That's why the galleries display antique door latches, keyholes, keys, and household tools with strong geometric lines right next to the paintings. Connections beg to be drawn between neighboring objects -- an unusual van Gogh nude, an Amish chest, New Mexican rural icons. Virtually every first-rank European artist is included: Degas, Seurat, Bosch, Tintoretto, Lorrain, Chardin, Daumier, Delacroix, Corot, and more. Not a bad use of a fortune made from patent medicine!

In 2004, a federal judge ruled that the Barnes may move its collection to Philadelphia. The planned spot is along the Benjamin Franklin Parkway. The scheduled opening date is to be announced. As of press time, ground was not even broken, so count on a few more years at least.

Note: This information was accurate when it was published, but can change without notice. Please be sure to confirm all rates and details directly with the companies in question before planning your trip.

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