Art News

After Almost a Decade of Debate, Barnes Art Collection Nears Final Days at Old Home

PHILADELPHIA, PA.- After nearly a decade of lawsuits and bitter debate, the world famous Barnes art collection is about to move from its original wooded, suburban setting outside Philadelphia to a bustling boulevard in the city’s cultural district. Workmen are still busy constructing the Barnes’ new, modern building in an area of Philadelphia known as Center City that is home to government offices, shops, museums and open-air spaces modeled after the Champs-Elysees in Paris. Once it debuts in spring 2012, the new home is expected to cost $150 million, including expenses to move the collection. The Barnes, named after Philadelphia physician Albert Barnes, who died in 1951, contains some 800 paintings by famous artists including 181 pieces from Renoir and 69 by Cezanne. The Barnes Foundation, which controls the collection, believes the paintings constitute one of the world’s great collections of French impressionist