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The Art of the Steal – USA – 1 hr 40 min – Don Argott
A gripping tale of intrigue, THE ART OF THE STEAL traces the history of the internationally famous Barnes art collection. The Barnes‘ Renoirs, Cézannes, and Matisses are scheduled to move to a new home in downtown Philadelphia in 2011. Taking a decided point of view, THE ART OF THE STEAL argues that this move constitutes an artistic crime of the highest order.
Reviews | Trailer | IMDB | Official Site
Panel Discussion
Join us for a special panel discussion with members of the Friends of the Barnes as part of our Cinematheque Art (on) Film Series:
County: Apr 5 (Mon 7:30)
Ambler: Apr 7 (Wed 7:30)
Each night will begin with a screening of the film and will culminate with a Q&A. The panelists for each evening are listed below.
Panelists for the April 5th screening at the County Theater:
Hyman Myers, FAIA is a nationally-recognized architect with expertise in the fields of historic preservation, museum master planning and design. In Philadelphia, Hy led restoration work on City Hall, The Bellevue, the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, and the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Hy was selected this year as “Preservationist of the Year” by the Preservation Alliance of Greater Philadelphia.
Jay Raymond has been both a student in the art department at the Barnes Foundation and, later, a member of its faculty. He is a member of the Steering Committee of Friends of the Barnes Foundation.
Nicholas N. Tinari, Esq., is an intellectual property and patent attorney with Caesar, Rivise, Bernstein, Cohen & Pokotilow, Ltd. He is an alumnus of the Art Department of the Barnes Foundation and led the early student advocates efforts for fidelity to the Barnes Foundation Indenture of Trust.
Robert Zaller is Professor of History at Drexel University. He has written, coauthored, edited, co-edited, and translated some twenty books of history, criticism, fiction, memoir, and verse. He is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, and his honors include a Guggenheim fellowship. Professor Zaller is a member of the Friends of the Barnes Foundation Steering Committee.
Panelists for the April 7th screening at the Ambler Theater:
The picture of the Barnes controversy is not complete without the Latch’s Lane neighbors. At the Ambler Theater, for the very first time, neighbors Toby and Bob Marmon will be on a panel to discuss their unique perspective on the Barnes controversy. They will be joined by Lita Solis-Cohen, a preservation advocate and former Barnes student, who has been a syndicated journalist since 1973 and is currently Senior Editor of Maine Antique Digest. Also participating is Jay Raymond, a longtime advocate for preservation of the Barnes Foundation, who has been both a student in the art department at the Barnes Foundation and, later, a member of its faculty. Jay is a founding member of the Steering Committee of Friends of the Barnes Foundation. This engaging panel is certain to enhance your understanding of the complex, prolonged, and still very active controversy over the region’s treasured cultured site in Merion, The Barnes Foundation. Toby and Bob Marmon and Jay Raymond appear in The Art of the Steal.”
What time??
Suzan – We actually have two Art of the Steal events – we will have the film for a regular week-long run starting on March 19th. Please consult our website as we get closer for exact showtimes. In addition, we will have two special screenings followed by a Q&A session on Mon, April 5 at the County Theater and Wed, April 7 at the Ambler Theater. Both of these screenings will start at 7:30.
The Bryn Mawr is hosting special screenings with Q&A to follow with the producers and director. Will there be similar activities at the County? We would be interested in the Q&A with the filmmakers.
I loved the Barnes. You were shepherded by annoying rent-a-cops while you observed great paintings hung in some double-secret fashion which I did not quite understand. I am only a photographer and do not understand the way some people describe the art of the image. Henri Cartier Bresson’s work is revealing to me…Diane Arbus shocks me..I do not know what Calder is saying…..(am I Hegellian?)
I hung paintings for an employer years ago. He collected frequently and had the overflow around his office floor, I’m not schooled but I noticed many pastels with bright colors in many “styles”. He just wanted them to fit the walls in his office. I made it happen. The Barnes reminded me of that.
The good thing about the Barnes is that…if there is snow on the ground outside, you can actually ALMOST see those paintings hung up in the rafters. (read opera glasses)
Some of these paintings are so special a room with four walls could have four paintings without adequate credence for each.
Perhaps it COULD happen…could the city of Phila orchestrate it, probably not but d’ya wanna sell the ones the snow reflections light to pay for the rent-a-cops to guard the Monet’s
Enjoy this movie, but don’t forget that it’s propaganda. I love the Barnes Villa and I treasure my visits there, but but this collection is just simply too important to be stuck in a place where only 30,000 people a year can see it, in a facility that doesn’t have the money for state of the art climate control or security. The collection belongs to the world, not to a small group of rich neighbors in Merion.
The many good people who have stepped up to make the new Barnes possible don’t deserve to be called thieves. They deserve our thanks.
I’m confused about “The Art of the Steal.” Will it be shown just the 3 times indicated in the announcement or will it run for at least a week?
oh Tom,,, you are so misinformed about the Barnes Foundation and the true wish of Dr. Barnes, which is stated in his will, and precisely the opposite of what you belive. the art is for the few are lovers and those who truly want to learn more about art who appreciate it in its original environment and NOT for the creedy rich in Phila who just want to profit from it and pretend they are saving it! They dont want to save it at all. if they really cared about the ART they would preserve it where it is, in its original home intended for the art by the collector himself. nothing says that they cant renovate the existing, historical building to accomdate the crowds and protect the art. NO reason to move it to do all that…. at HALF the cost of moving it! “they” are breaking his will and therefore STEALING the art.
thank you for your support and interest in the Barnes.
I believe that a person’s Will should be executed as wished. I was on the Board of Directors of a charitable foundation and witnessed how a person’s wishes can be ignored. Unless the provisions of the Will violate civil rights, as in the case of Girard College, the Will should be executed as it is written.
I agree completely with Tom B. The importance of these paintings at this time in history supersedes any one person’s quirky theories of how they should be viewed. These masterpieces deserve to be protected, lighted and displayed properly. The Barnes Foundation can no longer be trusted with this legacy–there simply isn’t enough money. Dr. Barnes was a great collector and the art world owes him a debt of gratitude, like many great collectors. I have visited the Barnes several times, both before and after the renovations. It is troubling to anyone used to viewing great art that these masterpices are dirty, cramped, crowded, unlit and underinsured–what would the artists themselves think? I cannot wait to see them libertated from hardware, overcrowding, darkness and burlap at long last! The art come first, not the collector!
My previous comments were written before I saw the movie. I know that the movie is clearly biased, but I haven’t changed my mind. The end does not justify the means. The argument that more people will be able to see the Barnes collection misses the point. This is about a person’s Will and wishes. There is nothing illegal in the Barnes Will. As I previoously stated, I was on the Board of Directors of a charitable foundation. The Executor of the will of one of the founders played fast and loose with a considerable amount of money willed to the foundation. One of the board members said “what does the deceased care, she’s dead.”
After Teh Art of the Steal last week at the Bryn Mawr Film Institute, a man spoke to me about his Barnes experience. The first time he went, he was totally bowled over from the moment he entered the main gallery. When he left that day, he felt that the Barnes was his personal estate. When he returns, he feels it is to see “his” art. I think tthis experience gets to the real essence of what Albert Barnes hoped to leave as his legacy, not so much about art per se, but about the experience of art in a democracy. It is for the whole world, but it goes beyond the art hanging on those burlap walls. I think its real purpose was to have EveryMan interact with art as part of life, but Dr. Barnes did want people to take it seriously and put some thought and purposefulness into it. A note to Tom: the Barnes is authorized to have at least 144,000 people a year PLUS groups of school students. The current board is doing little to open things up to bring in that number of people. They could be open every day when classes aren’t in session, but they don’t. Now, they’ve closed a bunch of rooms, leave the blinds down to give things an unpleasant atmosphere. They are being creepy, dishonest.
The Inquirer had a really good article this week about wills and bequests, quoting a number of legal experts, and the fact is: Wills are broken all the time. Times change. Stephen Girard clearly intended that his bequest only benefit white boys — that’s not operative today in a society that believes in racial and gender equality. Was breaking the Girard bequest a “steal?”
Even if it was Dr. Barnes’ true intention that his paintings be bottled up and inaccessible, it’s not the obligation of society to respect that intention in perpetuity. What if Dr. Barnes, in a final act of bitterness, willed that his Cezannes be burned at his tomb on the anniversary of his death? Would the folks who made this film be cheering at the bonfire?
The point is the collection is a LOT bigger than Dr. Barnes, and the power of a will does not overrule all other things.
It would serve all of us to give Dr. Barnes the benefit of the doubt and imagine him with a big heart, imagine that he would be thrilled to see his collection welcome 2 million visitors a year.
In the 20s and 30s, when Barnes and Cone Sisters of Baltimore were buying their Cezannes and Picassos and Matisses, these paintings were scorned by a narrow minded elite. Now interestingly a different narrow minded elite is trying to get between these paintings and the millions of people whose lives will be richer for having seen them. Funny how things turn out.
[...] at the struggling artist in a narrative manner, analyzing their creative processes and demons. The Art of the Steal, Herb and Dorothy, and Rivers and Tides use the documentary medium to explore their subjects and [...]
To tom b and judith, your arguments are not based in fact. the barnes in merion was entirely solvent prior to the rampant overspending in the 1990s that was in violation of the indenture of trust and abetted by the deputy attorney general who turned a blind eye.
As for public visitation there were many days and still are when the galleries are empty. the new building is supposed to replicate the original rooms. if that actually happens then the new building will be not accept any more visitors than the original one. 2 million visitors per year is absurd and demonstrates ignorance of the size of the galleries and reasonable numbers of people in them.
the art of the steal merely documented what happened it is not an advocacy piece any more than “Romero”, about the murdered archbishop of san salvador is.
your pseudo-populist argument about who the art belongs to is also nonsense. had barnes not believed that his indenture would be upheld, there would be no collection. the intent of the collector was to create a school, there was nothing illegal or immoral about that and that should have been preserved by the trustees whose duty it was to honor the terms of the indenture, not sell out to the highest bidder. what is behind everyone of these “art belongs to the people” arguments is basically that you want to be able to see it on your own schedule after you’ve sipped your latte and parked your hummer. well real experience is oftentimes something that is earned and a little discomfort in the process is not a bad thing. go talk to the pope about public access to the sistina !
finally, no, dr. barnes would not be pleased with this outcome. he spent a lifetime designing a school, not a museum and did everything he could to keep the collection from becoming one.