MUSEUM BEAT by roberta graff Philadelphia’s The City of Brotherly Love, the home of Betsy Ross, Benjamin Franklin, Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell has been drawing visitors interested in the history of our country for decades. They spend a few days visiting the outstanding museums, dining at the sensational restaurants and wandering around Rittenhouse Square. If they were well informed they took a short ride to Merion where they visited the Barnes Foundation. The Barnes collection consists of Impressionist, Post-Impressionist and early Modern paintings, medieval manuscripts and sculptures, Old Masters paintings, Native American crafts and ancient Egyptian, Greek and Roman art. Due to the poor lighting and cramped quarters of the Barnes galleries, which were dedicated in 1925, it was not easy to view, never mind appreciate, the wonders of Dr. Alfred Barnes brilliant collection. The gallery collection has since moved to Philadelphia, where it is housed in a stunning new building, which opened only four years ago. The holdings, assembled by Dr. Barnes between l9l2 and l953, is renown as Newest Treasure one of the finest in the world. There are 181 works by Renoir, 69 by Cezanne, 7 by van Gogh, 6 by Seurat, 18 by Rousseau, 59 by Matisse, 46 by Picasso and 16 pieces by Modigliani. In addition, there are works by El Greco, Frans Hals and Veronese; pieces by Glackens and Prendergast; and 4 paintings by Horace Pippin, an African American artist, whose work I did not know and found wonderful. Not to be overlooked is the unique collection of hardware and other decorative objects. Alfred C. Barnes, who was born in a working-class neighborhood in Philadelphia in 1872, was both intelligent and highly motivated. He graduated from medical school, but his fortune came from his invention of the silver-based antiseptic “Argyrol.” He had a keen interest in philosophy, education and art and began collecting early on. He believed art improved one’s critical thinking and ability to learn. And so, due to the largess of Dr. Barnes and the petitions of the Foundation, the magnificent new light-filled Barnes Foundation, with its interior garden space, world-class art, African sculpture, decorative arts, Native-American ceramics, jewelry, textiles and antiques, takes its place as one of life’s seminal artistic experiences. Because the Barnes hosts loan exhibits as well, visitors would do well to spend a few days in Philadelphia at either the excellent Sonesta Hotel located in the heart of the Center City’s business district or the famed super lux Rittenhouse with its magnificent spa. This would give them a chance to spend hours and hours at the Barnes and perhaps another of this city’s excellent museums as well as enjoy a romantic meal at the Parisian inspired Parc Brasserie facing Rittenhouse Square. Between the art and the superb eateries Philadelphia is as close to Paris as you can get. 46 North Shore Towers Courier n August 2016 The Rittenhouse Hotel Part of the famous Barnes Collection
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