Barnes Foundation

Barnes of the Present:
The Barnes Foundation features one of the premier private collections of art in the world and is an educational institution that promotes its mission through public visitation and a variety of educational programming, set in a 12-acre Arboretum in Merion, PA.

The Barnes Foundation art gallery will remain open to the public in Merion, through June of 2011 with extended days and hours of operation. When the permanent art collection moves to the Parkway in 2012, the Barnes Foundation will remain open in Merion, allowing visitors to enjoy the Arboretum and horticultural programming.

Barnes of the Future:
The new Barnes Foundation building will occupy the city block between 20th and 21st Streets and the Benjamin Franklin Parkway and Pennsylvania Ave. The Barnes collection will be displayed in an exhibition space that replicates the scale, proportion and configuration of the original galleries in Merion. In addition, the new building will have amenities for students and visitors including classrooms, a 5,000 square foot changing exhibition space, a 150 seat auditorium, a cafe and a gift shop. The building is scheduled to be open to the public in the Spring of 2012.

Collection
The Barnes Foundation houses one of the finest collections of French Impressionist, Post-Impressionist, and early Modern paintings in the world, including an extraordinary number of masterpieces by Pierre-Auguste Renoir (181), Paul Cézanne (69), and Henri Matisse (59). The collection also includes important works by Pablo Picasso (46), Chaim Soutine (21), Henri Rousseau (18), Amedeo Modigliani (16), Edgar Degas (11), Vincent van Gogh (7), Georges Seurat (6), Edouard Manet (4), and Claude Monet (4).
Classes
The Galleries of the Barnes Foundation are the most exciting and stimulating classroom you will ever experience. Surrounded by beautiful ensembles of paintings by great masters, students engage in a study of visual perception, meaning, and interpretation using the principles and fundamental elements of design. The experience guides the student through the process of learning to see as an artist. In addition to the art classes The Arboretum School of the Barnes Foundation offers a three-year comprehensive course of study in the botanical sciences, horticulture practices, garden aesthetics, and design.
Arboretum
The Arboretum of the Barnes Foundation in Merion, Pennsylvania, features an exceptional collection of rare and unusual trees and woody plants from all over the world. The 12-acre Arboretum, which surrounds the Foundation's Gallery, includes a fern collection, formal rose and perennial gardens, lilac groves, and groupings of mature trees, including specimens not usually grown in the Mid-Atlantic region. Highlights include the Araucaria araucana, or monkey puzzle tree, native to Chile; Parrotia persica, or Persian ironwood, indigenous to northern Iran; and Sequoia sempervirens, or coast redwood, native to a narrow strip of land along the Pacific coast of North America.

For Students, Schools/Teachers

The Barnes Foundation offers docent-guided tours to student groups on Monday through Wednesday mornings. A guided tour provides an engaging learning experience at any grade level. For more information visit the School Groups page of the Barnes Foundation website.