The Art of the Steal
Kate and I went to see it at the 10p showing at the last second on opening night right here in Philly. Unfortunately, the theater was pretty empty, but the earlier 7.25p show was sold out. I think there was a special event along with that showing. The film outlined the basic history of Barnes and his facility which was a school and museum set in an idyllic arboretum, from whence Barnes' interest in art began, to his death and decades later when his cherished artwork was squabbled over irregardless of what he thought was an ironclad will. The film was heavily one-sided (against the move) and I have no problem with that. I learned a ton of stuff, albeit mostly from one point of view.
Barnes amassed what is described as the most important collection of post-impressionistic art in the first half of the 20th century (I believe the art critic for LA Weekly said that in the film). He bought Renoir, Cezanne, Henri, Picasso, Van Gogh and others valued at over $25B. He wanted his art collection to never be within Philadelphia with which he seemed to have a spitefully hateful relationship. His first art show was showered with negative reviews and he swore to never show in Philly again – Philly's loss. So he built his art hall in Merion, just under 5 miles northwest of the city. And in his will, it stated that his collection was never to be sold nor loaned nor was it to ever land in Philadelphia. After his death in 1951, in a car accident, a member of the school took over for 40 years and that's when the shit really hit the fan after her death.
Philly power brokers like now Governor Ed Rendell, then Mayor John Street, Pew Charitable Trusts President Rebecca Rimel, billionaires Walter Annenberg and Ray Perelman and Gerry Lenfest are all a part of the equation in yanking the Foundation's collection from Merion.
It's a solid 101 minutes of angry film. However you felt about the situation going into the film, or if you had no opinion at all, you'll leave this film charged. It's playing at The Ritz 5 in Philly right now.
Explore posts in the same categories: Activism, Art, City Gov, Landmarks, Politics
February 27th, 2010 @ 2:17 pm
Even with some things already packed up, it's still worth taking a trip out there before the move. I went last month, and highly recommend it.
March 11th, 2010 @ 5:02 pm
man, that's a cool (but overwhelming/exhausting) collection. a strange set of theories, but really neat to see art displayed in such a nontraditional way.
anyway, I've lived in Philly long enough to listen to years of Merion choking that museum, by limiting traffic, number of visitors, and generally complaining about the interest of every single person who went there. now they're all "boo hoo! we should get to keep it" because it couldn't survive under the conditions that they had created. NO SYMPATHY.
the new space sounds like it will be amazingly faithful to the original house, so I expect you'll have your chance to be overwhelmed by the art — without fighting your way to Merion — soon enough.