The Barnes Foundation is an American educational art and horticultural institution in Lower Merion, a suburb of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1922 by Albert C. Barnes, a chemist who collected art after making a fortune by co-developing an early antigonorrhea drug marketed as Argyrol. Today, the foundation possesses more than 2,500 objects – including 800 paintings – estimated to be worth about $25 billion. These are primarily works by Impressionist and Modernist masters, but the collection includes many by leading European and American artists, as well as ancient works from other cultures. The foundation became embroiled in controversy due to a financial crisis in the 1990s, partially related to longstanding...
