Albert Barnes and the new book ‘The Maverick’s Museum’

The Barnes Foundation opened to the public in Merion 100 years ago this week to educate ordinary people about art. Millions have flocked to the collection in the years since, including after its controversial 2012 move to the Benjamin Franklin Parkway. A new biography takes a deep dive into the life, taste, and vision of Albert Barnes and the mark he made on the art world. 

Barnes grew up in poverty in North Philadelphia, became a millionaire by developing an antiseptic to treat blindness in newborns, and amassed one of the largest private art collections in the world of impressionist and modernist paintings. He bought dozens of Renoirs, Cezannes, Picassos, Van Goghs, and Modiglianis before most Americans recognized their value and paired them on his mansion’s walls with African art, and household objects like keyhole plates, door hinges, and ironwork. 

This hour, we explore the iconoclast who thumbed his nose at the art establishment and the legacy he left with the Barnes Foundation.

Guest:

Blake Gopnik – biographer, art critic, and author of The Maverick’s Museum: Albert Barnes and His American Dream. He’s also a regular contributor to The New York Times.