Albert C. Barnes

:"For the American theologian, see Albert Barnes"Infobox Person
name = Albert C. Barnes


image_size = 100 px
caption = Barnes portrait by de Chirico
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birth_date = January 2 1872
birth_place = Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
death_date = July 24 1951
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residence = Lower Merion Township, Pennsylvania
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known_for = inventor and art collector

Albert Coombs Barnes (January 2 1872–July 24 1951) was an American inventor and art collector, who made a fortune from the development of the antiseptic drug Argyrol, and founded the Barnes Foundation, a museum created from his own private collection, with strengths in paintings by Impressionist and modernist masters, as well as furniture and crafted objects. It is located near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Barnes was known as an eccentric, larger-than-life figure who had a passion for educating the underprivileged. He created a special relationship with Lincoln University, an historically black college in the area, and gave the university a strong role in administration of his foundation.

Early life

Barnes was born in Philadelphia to working-class parents, the son of a butcher. Barnes financed his own education in chemistry at the University of Pennsylvania and in Germany. In 1899, with a German student named Hermann Hille, he developed a mild silver nitrate antiseptic, marketed as Argyrol, which was an immediate financial success. Barnes soon bought out his partner and became a millionaire by the age of 35. He sold his company before the stock market crash of 1929 and the advent of other antibiotics [Howard Greenfield "The devil and Dr. Barnes" , (New York, NY: Viking Penguin, p. 306. ISBN 978-0-670-80650-8)] .

Art collecting

From about 1910 Barnes began to dedicate himself to the pursuit of the arts. In 1912, during a stay in Paris, he was invited to the home of Gertrude and Leo Stein, where he gained the acquaintance of artists like Henri Matisse and Pablo Picasso. In the 1920s, art dealer Paul Guillaume introduced him to the work of Amedeo Modigliani and Giorgio de Chirico. With his money, his excellent eye, and economic conditions in the Depression, Barnes was able to acquire a great deal of important art at bargain prices. His first Picasso, for instance, was bought for under $100.

Known for his antagonism to the discipline of art history, which "stifles both self-expression and appreciation of art," Barnes was also an outspoken and controversial critic of public education and the museum. His foundation had a hands-on approach to the collection and was created, he argued, not for the benefit of art historians, but for that of the students. [Mark Jarzombek "The psychologizing of modernity" , (Cambridge, U.K. Cambridge University Press, p. 135. ISBN 978-0-521-58238-4)]

A public showing of his collection in 1923 proved too avant-garde for public taste. The critical ridicule aimed at this show was the beginning of a long-lasting and well-publicized antagonism between Barnes and those he considered part of the art establishment. He had his collection hung according to his own ideas about showing relationships between paintings and objects, for instance furniture and finely crafted hinges and metalwork. The pieces were identified in a minimal manner, without curatorial comment, so that viewers could approach them without mediation.

Barnes limited access to the collection, and required people to make appointments by letter. Applicants sometimes received rejection letters signed by Barnes's dog, for instance. In a famous case, writer James A. Michener was refused admission, and only gained access to the collection by posing as an illiterate steelworker. [Greenfeld, 1987 pp. 130-131]

Up through the early 1990s, long after Barnes's death, access to the collection was extremely limited. The collection had difficulties raising enough money to provide for needed renovations to its building as well as regular operating expenses. Some of the collection was exhibited on tour to raise money for needed renovations.

Appointments may now be made by phone, but the number of visitors is controlled so the galleries are not too crowded. A debate continues about where the collection should be kept, in its current location in Philadelphia suburbs or in downtown Philadelphia near other museums, where it would be more easily accessible by more people, including students. Barnes expressed in his will the desire to keep the collection "exactly where it is", but in 2004 a judge declared it legal for the Foundation to move the collection to downtown Philadelphia.

References