The Barnes Foundation

In his May 31, 2010, cover article titled “No Museum Left Behind,” Lance Esplund paints a detailed and idealized picture of the Barnes Foundation and adopts wholesale some of the common misconceptions about the upcoming move of the foundation’s collection to Philadelphia and the reasons for it. Regrettably, when it comes to his coverage of the history and aims of the foundation, and the circumstances that led to the move, Mr. Esplund simply repeats worn-out and misleading tales about the foundation.

Photo Credit: Barnes Foundation

Mr. Esplund bemoans the breaking of Albert Barnes’s will. The truth is that Barnes’s will was not broken and was not at issue in the proceeding before the Orphans’ Court seeking approval for the move. For the record, Barnes’s will is a simple document limited to reiterating that the collection was given to the foundation prior to his death; bequeathing to the foundation the land and buildings in Merion, as well as Barnes’s country property known as Ker-Feal; and giving the residue of his estate to his wife, Laura. 

The relevant document is the indenture of trust, which established the mission of the foundation and gave governance responsibility to a board of trustees. Barnes established the foundation in Merion. He understood, however, that the situation could change and there might be a need to move if the collection no longer could be maintained in Merion. A fact frequently ignored by opponents of the move is that Barnes actually anticipated the possibility of a move of the collection to Philadelphia in paragraph 11 of the indenture, which reads in relevant part:

Should the said collection ever .  .  . become impossible to administer the trust hereby created concerning said collection of pictures, then the property and funds .  .  . shall be applied to an object as nearly within the scope herein indicated .  .  . such application to be in connection with an existing organization .  .  . in Philadelphia, Pa., or its suburbs. 

Indeed, one of the primary purposes of the proceeding before the Orphans’ Court was to divine, as best as possible, the intent of Barnes. Following years of litigation, including weeks of hearings, review of voluminous archival materials, and consideration of the numerous alternatives that had been put forth, the court came to the reasoned conclusion that the move was consistent with and furthered the mission of the institution established by Albert Barnes. 

Mr. Esplund relies on a recently published article by the art dealer Richard Feigen to support his claim that the foundation’s trustees did not do enough to try to keep the collection in Merion. Mr. Feigen’s solution was to sell Ker-Feal and works of art from the collection to raise money for an endowment. This prescription, which stands in direct opposition to Barnes’s express wishes and the ethical standards widely accepted by other collecting institutions, was examined carefully and rejected by the court. 

Mr. Esplund also alleges that Lincoln University was bribed out of its inherited responsibility to the foundation. Lincoln never had direct governance responsibility for the foundation. Lincoln’s power has always been limited to the right to nominate prospective trustees; it never included the authority to place Barnes trustees on the board. Whether nominated by Lincoln or not, each foundation trustee owes his/her fiduciary duty to the foundation and not to Lincoln University.

The article also perpetuates the fiction that there was a vast conspiracy to undermine the wishes of Barnes. According to Mr. Esplund’s sensationalized telling of the history, “the Barnes’s enemies and detractors—led by Pennsylvania governor Edward G. Rendell, then-Philadelphia mayor John Street, the Pew Charitable Trusts, the Lenfest and Annenberg Foundations, and the Philadelphia Museum of Art—kept after it,” and all conceived of a new tourist-focused Barnes in downtown Philadelphia to further their own interests. The fact is that after exploring numerous other alternatives, the chairman of the Barnes Foundation Board of Trustees, Dr. Bernard Watson, approached Pew, the Lenfest, and Annenberg Foundations, all distinguished Philadelphia area philanthropic institutions, regarding a possible plan to move the collection to Philadelphia. The Philadelphia Museum of Art has had no role in the move.