A beautifully written study of the extraordinary art collector and volatile personality Albert C. Barnes. The book places him in the context of his own era, shedding new light on the movements and ideas (about art collecting, education, and aesthetics) that shaped so much of his thinking. The Barnes' major holdings of post-impressionist and early modern art include more than 800 paintings, with a strong focus on Renoir (181 canvases), Cezanne (9), Matisse (59), and Picasso (46 paintings and drawings). In its entirety, it is the greatest single collection of such art that has remained intact. The last chapters of the book address the controversial events surrounding the Barnes Foundation's move to Philadelphia, including vehement opposition -- as well as strong support. There is an analysis of the Foundation's financial plight, a review of the major court cases over the decades, and a characterization of the fervent reactions following the court's decision to allow the move to take place. Illus.
Neil L. Rudenstine graduated from Princeton University (1956), was a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford, earned his PhD in English Literature at Harvard, and remained on Harvard's faculty until 1968. After two decades as Professor, Dean, and Provost at Princeton, he was President of Harvard University from 1991 to 2001. He was a trustee of the Barnes Foundation and was chair of the boards of ARTstor, the New York Public Library, the Rockefeller Archive Center, as well as vice-chair of the board of the J. Paul Getty Trust. His several books include Sidney's Poetic Development; English Poetic Satire (with G. S. Rousseau); In Pursuit of the PhD (with W. G. Bowen); and Pointing Our Thoughts. He lives in Massachusetts. Yve-Alain Bois is Professor Emeritus of Art History at the School of Historical Studies at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey. A specialist in twentieth-century European and American art, Bois is recognized as an expert on a wide range of artists, from Henri Matisse and Pablo Picasso to Piet Mondrian, Barnett Newman, and Ellsworth Kelly. He has curated and co-curated a number of influential exhibitions, including Piet Mondrian, A Retrospective (1994); L'informe, mode d'emploi (1996); Matisse and Picasso: A Gentle Rivalry (1999); and Picasso Harlequin 1917-1937 (2008). His books include Ellsworth Kelly: Catalogue Raisonne of Paintings, Reliefs, and Sculpture: Vol. 1, 1940-1953 (2015); Matisse in the Barnes Foundation (2015); Art Since 1900 (with Benjamin Buchloh, Hal Foster, and Rosalind Krauss, 2004); Matisse and Picasso (1998); Formless: A User's Guide (with Rosalind Krauss, 1997); and Painting as Model (1990). Bois is currently working on several long-term projects, foremost among them the five-volume catalogue raisonne of Ellsworth Kelly's paintings and sculptures.
"[D]eserve[s] to be read...because the slippage of identity between the man, the art, and the institution provides both the melodrama and the farce of the tale."--Susan Tallman "The Atlantic" "[Rudenstine] argues persuasively for the artworks' move from Merion to Center City and breaks down the legal proceedings and the board's decisions. The narrative is academic, heavily footnoted, and relying on primary sources, but sprightly enough that it's fun to read."--Emily Schilling "Broad Street Review"
