Art News

Pennsylvania Judge Hears Arguments Over Moving of the Barnes Foundation to New Home

NORRISTOWN (AP).- The Barnes Foundation’s new home is well under construction in Philadelphia but a long and bitter fight continues over whether the world-famous art collection should stay in its longtime suburban home. Montgomery County Orphans’ Court Judge Stanley Ott presided over a packed two-hour hearing Monday afternoon on the ongoing Barnes saga. He approved the proceeding after a request from a citizens group that argued he didn’t have all the evidence when he approved the relocation in 2004. The Friends of the Barnes Foundation, a group trying to halt the multibillion-dollar collection’s 5-mile move from suburban Lower Merion, said Ott was misled by the actions of the attorney general’s office, which has oversight over charitable trusts. Samuel Stretton, an attorney represen-