Art News

Barnes Foundation Move Opponents Go Back to Court

PHILADELPHIA (AP).- Opponents of a plan to move The Barnes Foundation’s legendary art collection to Philadelphia are asking a judge to reopen the case. The Friends of the Barnes Foundation want to halt the Barnes’ move from suburban Lower Merion. In court documents filed Thursday, they accuse former Attorney General Mike Fisher of misconduct. They say he should have been a neutral party but instead was a “major player” in enabling the Barnes’ move by pressuring its trustees. The opponents say statements by Fisher and then-Gov. Ed Rendell in the 2009 documentary “The Art of the Steal” shed new light on what happened behind the scenes. The Barnes galleries are slated to close in June and reopen next year in a new building near the Philadelphia Museum of Art.