Philadelphia is a world-class destination for art museums. Along with the huge Philadelphia Museum of Art, there’s a beautiful small Rodin Museum and the modern Barnes Foundation museum. Barnes focuses on mostly impressionist art, with a particularly extensive collection of work from Matisse, Cézanne, Renoir, and Picasso.
The Barnes Foundation
Barnes Foundation is very unique in the way it presents its collection. The Barnes started primarily as a school, with the collection housed in a villa-like gallery that opened in 1925. To that end, the paintings are collected in extremely symmetrical wall groupings, balancing themes, subjects, and colors. Along with the paintings, you might find brass fittings, door hinges, sculptures, and often furniture.
The walls are meant to be viewed as a whole – to see how this ancient sculpture influenced that modern painting, and so on. And there aren’t any wall signs to indicate what pieces you are actually looking at. I highly recommend attending an introductory class to begin your visit to get some context on how to view the collection. Classes are held several times a day. And there is a museum guide you can pull up on your phone at barnesfoc.us. Using it, point your phone at any artwork and it gives you more information about it.
I actually really loved walking around and experiencing these masters without any signs. I could just enjoy what I enjoyed without the museum itself directing me in any way. After touring the whole museum, I then went back through and got more information on the pieces I liked the most.
The New Building
While the Barnes Foundation is no longer in its original 1925 building, it still retains a sort of villa-house feel inside, with a series of smaller galleries on two floors surrounding a main hall. It feels much more intimate than your average prestigious art museum. In fact, on a busy day, it can be difficult to stand back far enough to view each wall as a whole, as intended. (And certainly hard to get overall pictures.)
You wouldn’t think it’s so cozy by looking at the Barnes Foundation from the outside. Its new building looks like a cement bunker but is surprisingly open and airy inside with lots of natural light. It’s like they built a huge modern museum, then plonked the old villa as-is into the back of it. It gives a wonderful juxtaposition even as you walk through the main collection. Occasionally, you exit one traditional-looking room into a modern corridor with an interior courtyard and natural light before entering the next conventional gallery space.
More at the Barnes
The main collection at the Barnes isn’t the only thing to see, either. Currently, there is an additional gallery space for southwest native art that is beautifully presented. There is also a large gift shop and restrooms on a lower level, and a restaurant in the main lobby area open for brunch, lunch, or drinks. In the spirit of continuing education, there are several classes available as well.
A 12-acre Barnes Arboretum can be found eight miles away, at the original location of the foundation. It’s free to visit anytime.
Vising the Barnes Foundation
To visit the Barnes Foundation, the cost is $25 for adults, $23 for seniors, and only $5 for college students with ID and youth ages 13-18. Ages 12 and under are free. Philadelphia K-12 teachers can visit on Sundays for free and active duty military can visit for free between Armed Forces Day (3rd Saturday in May) and Labor Day (1st Monday in September.) Annual memberships can be purchased for $90 and up.
Barnes Foundation is only open Thursday-Monday from 11 am-5 pm, or open at 10 am for members.
There is a small paid parking lot at the Barnes, but if it’s busy, you might be better off parking in a nearby lot. Parking at the Barnes lot costs $12 for 4 hours plus $2 each additional hour. There’s also a larger lot at 19th & Callowhill.
In relation to the rest of the art museums of Philadelphia, the Barnes is next to the Rodin Museum and down the street from the large Museum of Art. They are all within walking distance of each other, but I don’t recommend trying to visit them all in one day. At least take two days – one for the big museum and another for Barnes & Rodin. Preferably more spaced out if you don’t want your brain to melt. It’s a LOT of art!
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