Barnes Foundation

2025 Benjamin Franklin Pkwy, Philadelphia, PA 19130, USA

Address:	2025 Benjamin Franklin Pkwy, Philadelphia, PA 19130, USA
Phone:	+1 215-278-7200
Site:	barnesfoundation.org
Rating:	4.4
Working:	10AM–5PM Closed 10AM–5PM 10AM–5PM 10AM–5PM 10AM–5PM 10AM–5PM

Location

Photos 100

Reviews 4

Ying Zhang

The collection is GREAT! Since it was a private collection by Mr.Barnes, he certainly had his personal taste imprinted in the collections as well as the style they were displayed, i.e. the sharp contrast of colors in red and blue. The collection is mostly impressionism, and some abstraction-ism. There are a lot of Renoirs, from some of you can actually see Renoir painted the human faces (mostly babies) in a slightly different style (their shining eyes) from his usual "impression" of human faces (mostly young girls) being red, round and harmony. But the paintings that strike me most are the Matissess. Certainly,Matisse painted a lot of women. But those nearly perfect figures under his brush are not just expressed as women. They are human spirits adopted into certain forms for us to recognize more easily. Matisses had to condescend to our eyes. For example, he would paint a woman with beautiful face, hair, shoulder but a complete but very simple, sometimes sketchy torso and legs. (which made his work more adorable than Picassos, to some people, I mean myself.) Well, there are just too many things to see in one day, and too many things for me to name, waiting for you to explore. Other than the pluses, there are a few things about my experience that Id like to point out: 1. Even if you reserved your ticket about a specific hour, like 3pm, days ago, on the day of your visit you still have to wait in a line at 3pm. (unless you are a member then you do not need to wait in lines.) I did not know that when I was coming in, and thought those people in line were waiting for some special tours, until reality hits me.. I understand that even in the new location people would like to keep the original style that Mr.Barnes had kept those paintings, (as moving from the old location in suburban Merion to center Philly already offended a lot people), the rooms are still too small to hold a large number of visitors. The gallery is crowded. 2. If you bring your iphone you can borrow a pair of headphones from the counter for free. If you do not have a smart phone to broadcast for you there is a fee to use their machines. But, under each of the paintings there is at most just the painters name. You can not expect there is any legend, or explanation of the painting hanging on the wall, as in the case of the public museums. The walls are densely covered by paintings alone. 3. Like most public museums in Canada (unlike US), it is not allowed to take pictures in the gallery. But you can check bags at the lower floor for free. 4. Perhaps they did not notice this. While their guards are trying very hard to politely keep the visitors from becoming too close to the pictures, they sometimes become too close themselves, (well, at least in the case of a guard with a big hair), lol Overall, those being said, it is still one of the best art experience Ive so far encountered in America.

Michelle Foster

While the Barnes Foundations collection is stunning in its new building, the organization has some kinks to work out. We visited recently and while we have nothing but positive things to say about the artwork and how its displayed, we were dismayed by how poorly the organization delivered its services. The online ticket ordering mechanism was non-functional for days and the ticket office never answered the phone in person - there was an answering machine that directed us to call back during working hours ... which we did repeatedly but to no effect. Finally we left a message on the membership line and were rewarded a few days later with a call back. After touring the collection, we went to the restaurant. To say we had bad service would be incorrect because we actually had no service. The hostess seated us outside and left us menus, a waitress came and told us the specials and got our order for coffee and water, and then.... nothing. We finally flagged down a waiter (clearly peeved that he had to take our order at someone elses table) and asked for the days special: quiche with gruyere, cabbage and smoked ham. About 30 minutes later it showed up ... and it was quiche, but no gruyere, cabbage or ham. We waited for someone to come and ask how things were going, but it never happened. By now it was well after 2:00. We finally ate and then flagged down someone who passed by the open door and asked if they could find our waitress and/or the check. Our waitress brought it and when we mentioned the quiche issues, she said she just told us what the kitchen told her. It was an expensive lunch and we were far from satisfied, but there was no apology or attempt to make it better. So clearly there are some things to work out. Dont let this dissuade you from going - just adjust your expectations about service. It is a wonderful collection and a unique environment for learning.

Bill Jones

Stunningly modern building with dramatic reflecting pools at entrance and into entrance alcove--like walking across water. Helpful volunteers to answer questions everywhere. No puff or down jackets--must be checked along with usual bags, etc. The black lines in front of every wall/painting is rigorously enforced by intrusive security guards in every room. So much that its a joke--see t shirts in gift shop. Small rooms that replicate the original setting in Barnes home with a vengeance. Strange odor throughout for a modern building. Could this be from the paintings? So many Renoirs that you would willing believe theyre in the thousands. Many other famous "impressionists" and this is what sets this museum apart from all others: the sheer volume of impressionist paintings. As is so true of impressionists you will find more nudes than the Greeks ever did in statues, it seems. Did women wear clothes back then or what? Sometimes the juxtaposition of paintings is immediately clear. Other times it needs some thought. Both the in room cards that detail what youll find in the room (the paintings are not identified) as well as the audio guides make a world of a difference in appreciating what youre seeing--context, context, context. The steel and iron hardware on the same walls as the paintings disappear after a while. Barnes collected the hardware. Eccentric to display both collections on the same walls to my way of thinking. While it changes, the temporary exhibits or shows are usually well worth taking in. Gift shop in basement is definitely above average in scope and while heavily related to the collection is still done very tastefully. Starbucks across the street (diagonally NE of front of Barnes) and Whole Foods directly across the street are nice places to sit and talk about what youve seen. Rodin Museum on the West side of the Barnes is worth seeing though comparatively small.

Ritesh Shah

What a treat, and right in our own backyard! The Barnes has one of the largest private art collections. There are multiple paintings from Matisse, Cezanne, Monet, Renoire, Picasso - the list goes on! We went on a "First Sunday" special so the entry was free (and therefore the line was forming at an exponential speed!) Once youre passed the double door entry, you can go downstairs for coat check/waiting area until your time or straight through to the galleries if you wanted to hang out in the open space between galleries where they have a small cafe for coffee and snacks. The tickets have a time on them, and that is the time that youre able to actually enter into the galleries. I liked the organization of the rooms. Each room had a specific booklet, and each booklet was organized by wall - very easy to find the artwork youre interested in and learn more about the piece. The booklets gave us a glimpse of the history of the artwork, naming the artist and the titling of the piece. After that, it was all up to your imagination to peer and see what was intended (or not!) During the afternoon there is usually a group activity (it was arts and crafts the day we went) so definitely a good idea to bring the kids for these events. The group activity is independent from the art gallery viewing, so youre able to enter just for that if that is your plan. Honestly, great way to spend the morning getting your culture on, and the afternoon activities really help make this a fun family outing. Enjoy!