Some six years after it controversially moved to Philadelphia, the Barnes Foundation appears to have decided to monetize the original properties of its founder, the legendary collector Albert Barnes, in both Lower Merion and Chester County. In a 2004 NY Times op-ed piece---Destroying the Museum to Save It---I had argued that the Barnes should have considered selling … [Read more...] about Barnes Foundation to Subdivide (& monetize?) 137 Acres; Offloads Costs of Lower Merion Properties
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News Flash: Thom Collins Named to Head the Barnes Foundation
The Barnes Foundation has just announced that Thomas ("Thom") Collins will be its next executive director and president, succeeding Derek Gillman, who left the building a full year ago. Collins will take the helm in mid-March. A Philadelphia native, Collins has been director of the Pérez Art Museum Miami (formerly Miami Art Museum) for the last five years. As detailed in … [Read more...] about News Flash: Thom Collins Named to Head the Barnes Foundation
Stepping Up: Judith Dolkart Leaves Barnes Foundation for Addison Gallery Directorship
The Barnes Foundation, less than two years after it opened its new Philadelphia facility, is not only without a director, but is also about to lose its deputy director/chief curator. When I learned that Derek Gillman was leaving the Barnes, effective last Jan. 1, to become distinguished visiting professor at Drexel University’s Westphal College of Media Arts & Design, I … [Read more...] about Stepping Up: Judith Dolkart Leaves Barnes Foundation for Addison Gallery Directorship
Fundraising Fizzle? Derek Gillman Leaves the Barnes Foundation, Endowment Goal Unmet
The stated reason for the Barnes Foundation's controversial move to Philadelphia from the Merion, PA, mansion where founder Albert Barnes had intended his collection always to remain was that this relocation was the most viable, least drastic solution to saving the financially beleaguered institution. Maybe not. Yesterday's announcement that Derek Gillman, the Barnes' … [Read more...] about Fundraising Fizzle? Derek Gillman Leaves the Barnes Foundation, Endowment Goal Unmet
So Much for the “Plain People”: Barnes Foundation’s Ellsworth Kelly Show Accompanied by Admission Hike
Once again, it's "in with the new, out with the old" today at the Barnes Foundation, which reopened almost a year ago in its new digs in Philadelphia. As I write this, the scribe tribe is gathering (without me) at the Barnes for the press preview of what the foundation bills as its "first contemporary art exhibition in 90 years" (a year after the Barnes was founded). … [Read more...] about So Much for the “Plain People”: Barnes Foundation’s Ellsworth Kelly Show Accompanied by Admission Hike
Barnes Foundation’s Visitor (Dis)Satisfaction Survey (plus: Kelly Preempts Glackens)
The drop-off entrance at the new Barnes Foundation (Ellsworth Kelly's "BarnesTotem" juts out above the canopy, to the right of the museum building)Photo by Lee RosenbaumBecause I didn't only go to the Philly Barnes's press preview in May, but also went Back to the Barnes in June (plunking down $18 for my ticket, as normal visitors do), I found myself on the receiving end … [Read more...] about Barnes Foundation’s Visitor (Dis)Satisfaction Survey (plus: Kelly Preempts Glackens)
“Green Machine”: Barnes Foundation Honored with LEED Platinum Designation UPDATED
The Barnes Foundation's green roofAll photos by Lee RosenbaumThe Barnes Foundation has just announced that at 2 p.m. today its Tod Williams- and Billie Tsien-designed new facility will receive LEED Platinum certification from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), making it "the first major art and education institution in the country" to achieve this highest level of … [Read more...] about “Green Machine”: Barnes Foundation Honored with LEED Platinum Designation UPDATED
Perils of “Thinking Big”: Barnes Foundation as Possible Candidate for a Future University of Chicago Study
Derek Gillman, the Barnes Foundation's president and executive director, speaking at its press preview in MayPhoto by Lee RosenbaumRobin Pogrebin's piece in today's NY Times---For Art Institutions, Thinking Big Can Be Suicidal---is based on the University of Chicago's just released study, Set in Stone: Building American's New Generation of Art Facilities (to which the Times … [Read more...] about Perils of “Thinking Big”: Barnes Foundation as Possible Candidate for a Future University of Chicago Study
Ticketing Glitch: Barnes Foundation Apologizes to Visitors for Chaotic Opening UPDATED WITH PHOTO
Entry doors from the Light Court to the Barnes Foundation's galleries during the less crowded press preview. Below: Reader's photo taken during an overbooked day.Photo by Lee RosenbaumI'll let the Barnes Foundation's own Facebook page entry, posted yesterday, speak for itself:Dear Patrons, It has been brought to our attention [didn't they observe it firsthand?] that many … [Read more...] about Ticketing Glitch: Barnes Foundation Apologizes to Visitors for Chaotic Opening UPDATED WITH PHOTO
Critical Reverence for the New Barnes Foundation, Plus My Irreverent Photo Essay (and video)
The celebrated Matisse "Dance" mural in the Barnes Foundation's main gallery, obscured by modern lighting fixtures. (A better view can be had from the balcony on the upper level.) [More on the Barnes, here, here and here.] I'm coming to terms with the fact that mine is a minority view regarding the new Barnes Foundation in Philadelphia. My downbeat mourning is out of step … [Read more...] about Critical Reverence for the New Barnes Foundation, Plus My Irreverent Photo Essay (and video)
My Huffington Post Piece: “Bogus Barnes Foundation: Fake Galleries, Phony Populism”
Dark night of the BarnesPhoto by Lee RosenbaumI've already touched on some aspects of my reaction to the new Barnes Foundation in Philadelphia, here and here. But I've saved my lead piece---Bogus Barnes Foundation: Fake Galleries, Phony Populism---for the more widely read Huffington Post. It's just gone up this evening on the site.So take an early look at my exploration of how … [Read more...] about My Huffington Post Piece: “Bogus Barnes Foundation: Fake Galleries, Phony Populism”
MeTube: Scenes (and thoughts) from the Barnes Foundation’s Preview
Top of the Barnes (behind Philadelphia's Free Library): Green roof on the right. Gallery mock-ups on the left, where monitors measure the sunlight and help regulate the lighting in the galleries below. In the middle, a cantilevered light box (now renamed a "canopy") that admits filtered and diffused illumination into the sprawling event space below. Entrance to the facility is … [Read more...] about MeTube: Scenes (and thoughts) from the Barnes Foundation’s Preview
MeTube: The Long, Winding Road to the New Barnes Foundation in Philadelphia
I'll be en route back home today from my sojourn at the Barnes Foundation in Philadelphia. It was, for me, a sad journey from the moment that I arrived at the new home for Albert Barnes' superlative collection of Impressionist, post-Impressionist and early modern art (among many more objects from world cultures).As you'll see in the video, below, access to an institution that … [Read more...] about MeTube: The Long, Winding Road to the New Barnes Foundation in Philadelphia
Death of Brett Miller, 47, Barnes Foundation’s Counsel, Said to Be a Suicide
There has been no official confirmation yet of the cause of the sudden death last week of Brett Miller, 47, the Barnes Foundation's general counsel. But a CultureGrrl reader, who insisted on anonymity, has told me that Miller's Philadelphia neighbors reported that he had died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. One of Miller's neighbors told my source that Miller died "some time … [Read more...] about Death of Brett Miller, 47, Barnes Foundation’s Counsel, Said to Be a Suicide
Brett Miller, Barnes Foundation’s Counsel, Found Dead UPDATED
More on this, here.I liked and respected Brett Miller, the Barnes Foundation's general counsel since January 2010, and I am saddened by the news (reported by Helen Stoilas of the Art Newspaper) that he was found dead this weekend at his home. There's nothing about this, at this writing, in the Phladelphia Inquirer. No cause of death has yet been disclosed. That Miller, an … [Read more...] about Brett Miller, Barnes Foundation’s Counsel, Found Dead UPDATED