Book Review
A Warts-and-All Biography of the Man Behind the Barnes Collection
The Maverick’s Museum examines Albert C. Barnes’s complex legacy, from his support for the Harlem Renaissance to his incongruent interactions with Black art and culture.
Barnes Foundation
Art
A Joyful Meeting of Matisse and Renoir
New Encounters takes Matisse and Renoir out of their usual spots at the Barnes Foundation to shed light on the relationship between the two artists.
Art
William Edmondson’s Tombstone Blues
The self-taught artist, who carved gravestones for a living, is finally receiving institutional recognition.
Art
Model, Rebel, and Painter, Suzanne Valadon Defied the Odds
Her female nudes were extraordinary for the time because she portrayed female sexual desire. Her subjects defied conventional ideals of femininity.
Art
How Soutine Showed de Kooning a Way Out
It seems to me that Soutine’s complete lack of interest in the cubists’ desire for order was exactly what appealed to de Kooning.
Art
Bill Viola's Videos Elevate the Commonplace
Viola's art takes us to the core of humanity through technology, exploring birth, death, and transcendence, examining the soul through the human body.
Art
Why Berthe Morisot Was an Essential Figure in the Impressionist Movement
A major exhibition on view at the Barnes Foundation presents a chance to understand the qualities that made Morisot’s success possible.
In Brief
The Famously Photo-Wary Barnes Foundation Makes Its Art More Accessible Online
The museum has a notriously strict no-photos policy, but has now made much of its collection available for digital download and sharing.
Art
Horsing Around With Philadelphia's Urban Cowboys
Mohamed Bourouissa's exhibition at the Barnes Foundation centers on his time with the Fletcher Street Urban Riders Club.
Art
The Political Problems of the Contemporary “Flâneur”
An exhibition at the Barnes Foundation uses the theme of the contemporary flânuer to draw connections to its 19th-century collection, but the concept is deeply muddled.
Art
Conjuring Paintings' Innermost Thoughts at the Barnes Foundation
In Andrea Hornick's audio tour, the figures of paintings converse and come to life.
Art
Contemporary Artists Create a New Kind of Order at the Barnes Foundation
PHILADELPHIA — It’s an illuminating mental exercise to ponder: what if Dr. Albert C. Barnes, the pharmaceutical tycoon and physician who assembled an unmatched collection of Post-Impressionist and early Modern paintings in Philadelphia, was actually an installation artist before his time?