March 4, 2020 | The Clarion
Arts & Life
Page 3
Chloe's Crash Course
The Barnes Foundation
By Chloe McGee
Arts & Life Editor
The Bames Foundation in Philadelphia
offers an unpresented display of art ranging
from Navajo textiles to Van Gogh’s iconic
postman. The Barnes is the museum
experience that you never knew you needed.
While the museum is home to one of the
most impressive collections of impressionist,
post-impressionist and early modernist art,
the Bames is much more than its S30 billion
net worth.
After making a fortune in the pharmaceutical
business. Dr. Albert C. Barnes turned his
attention to creating “the greatest modem art
collection” of his time, dedicating 40 years
to this pursuit.
Inspired by the philosophical teachings of
John Dewey, who emphasized the importance of
education, Dr. Bames chartered the foundation
in 1922, devoting his entire collection to this
project.
The namesake museum was meticulously
crafted by Dr. Bames himself—a display that
would allow all walks of life to enjoy art.
Impressionist masterpieces appear juxtaposed
next to ordinary household objects—keys,
door hinges and spatulas. Ancient Egyptian
art and African pottery are paired with avant-
garde American paintings and wrought iron
metalwork.
These arrangements, in which different
cultures, time periods and media are all
mixed together, are what Dr. Bames called his
“ensembles.” The purpose of these eclectic
displays are to accentuate visual similarities
that often go unnoticed.
Dr. Barnes commissioned architect Paul
Cret to design the 1925 gallery that still stands
today in Merion, Pennsylvania. However,
the gallery’s original location eventually fell
into disrepair, and the museum was forced to
close its doors.
Constmction for the Bames’ Philadelphia
location began in 2009, and the new museum
officially opened in 2012.
The new galleries were designed to replicate
the scale and proportion of original galleries
in Merion. Dr. Barnes's artistic arrangement
of the artworks and furniture were reproduced
to maintain the experience as he intended.
The south wall of Room 6 In the Barnes Musem In Philadelphia displays paintings by Gauguin, Renoir, Seurat and Prendergast alongside antique furniture and
metalwork.