Barnes, Albert C

Barnes, Albert C(oombs)

(born Jan. 2, 1872, Philadelphia, Pa., U.S.—died July 24, 1951, Chester county, Pa.) Pharmaceutical manufacturer and art collector. He obtained a medical degree and later studied in Germany. In 1902 he made a fortune with his invention of the antiseptic Argyrol. After building a mansion in Merion, Pa., in 1905, he began to collect art seriously, amassing some 180 paintings by Pierre-Auguste Renoir, 66 by Paul Cézanne, 35 by Pablo Picasso, and an extraordinary collection of 65 works by Henri Matisse. The Barnes Foundation, housed in quarters next to his Merion home, was chartered on Dec. 4, 1922, and opened in 1925. The 22-room structure displayed his collection in a highly personal manner that eschewed standard museum practice. The foundation also was intended to promote art education by providing art classes and by establishing a publishing program. (Barnes himself wrote and coauthored a number of books on art.) In 1961, after extensive litigation, his galleries were opened to the public.