Art Held Hostage: The Battle over the Barnes Collection - Softcover

Anderson Ph.D., John

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0393347311 ISBN 13: 9780393347319

Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company, 2013

Synopsis

“Money, pretension, horrid behavior by cultured people” (New York) ―John Anderson’s tale delivers it all in fabulously juicy detail.

This is the story of how a fabled art foundation―the greatest collection of impressionist and postimpressionist art in America, including 69 Cézannes, 60 Matisses, and 44 Picassos, among many priceless others―came to be, and how more than a decade of legal squabbling brought it to the brink of collapse and to a move that many believe betrayed the wishes of the founder, Dr. Albert C. Barnes (1872―1951). Art Held Hostage is now updated with a new epilogue by the author covering the current state of this international treasure and the endless battle over its fate. 8 pages of photographs

About this title

Review:

Art Held Hostage reveals the messy inside story about the most infamous world-class art museum that you’ve probably never heard of. The saga begins with the life and times of Albert C. Barnes, a Philadelphia business magnet who, after making his fortune during the Depression, becomes one of America’s most important collectors of impressionist and post-impressionist art. The collection includes famed paintings by such luminaries as Cezanne, Matisse, Picasso, and Renoir. Barnes became well known for his harsh personality and instigated a problematic invitation-only policy to his museum, located in a Philadelphia suburb. Strangely, even after Barnes’ death the museum continued to become embroiled in financial, legal, and community disputes. The story gets uglier during the 1990s with a series of lawsuits for the foundation’s high-profile president, including a racial discrimination suit and eventually near-bankruptcy for the collection. Author John C. Anderson, a contributing editor of The American Lawyer magazine, spares no cynical detail in his investigation into this truly American tale of power, litigiousness, and boardroom antics. This is a book for those interested in the dark underbelly of the business side of the art world. -- J.P. Cohen

About the Author:

John Anderson is the author of three works of nonfiction, including Burning Down the House, which won the Myers Award for outstanding book on race relations in America. He lives in Ossining, New York.

About this edition

• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 0393347311
• ISBN 13: 9780393347319
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 288