Barnes Friends Encouraged By Landmark Possibility

August 8th, 2007
By Jim McCaffrey
The Bulletin

Philadelphia - Lower Merion residents continue to try to pressure the Barnes Foundation into reconsidering its decision to move its $30 billion world-famous art collection to Philadelphia.

The latest effort involves the federal government.

Friends of the Barnes Foundation, a group dedicated to convincing the Barnes not to move its collection from the Merion gallery its founder Dr. Albert Barnes built to specifically house his art purchases, announced yesterday it has received an "encouraging response" from The National Historic Landmarks Program of the National Park Service.

The Friends submitted a preliminary assessment of the Barnes Foundation to assess its eligibility for National Historic Landmark status.

The Friends contend the Barnes Foundation is more than just the collection - it is the art together with the gallery building and the surrounding arboretum as a coordinated vehicle for teaching the unique art education system developed by Dr. Barnes.

Sandra Bressler, speaking for the Friends, explained, "National Historic Landmark status is the highest level of cultural and historical significance conferred by the United States government. It carries the clear message that this site is important to all Americans. We hope that the trustees of the Barnes Foundation will embrace this opportunity to preserve a national treasure. The Barnes is much more than an art collection. It is the site-specific historic and cultural monument as well."

In a letter to Barnes Foundation Board President Bernard Watson the Friends quoted from the Parks Service response, "The property appears to have significance as the physical evocation of an approach to art education put into tangible practice by owner Albert Barnes. We would be pleased to consider the NHL eligibility of this resource ... . An approach for the nomination that remains centered on the educational significance of the Barnes will also provide for a more satisfying and integrated presentation of the intangible ideas, the building and its landscape, and the diverse art collection and its management and display."

The Friends of the Barnes in its letter to Watson offered to pay "all costs and undertakings associated with the nomination process."

"All that is required from you is simply a letter of support," Bressler remarked in her letter on behalf of the Friends.

The Friends claim the landmark designation would bring with it new opportunities for grants and other funding for the Foundation.

Mark Schwartz, an attorney working for the Friends and Montgomery County in the campaign to keep the Barnes' collection in Merion, claimed yesterday a failure by the board to act on the opportunity for National Historic Landmark status would "show more fiduciary disregard" by the Foundation.