Feb. 26 (Bloomberg) -- A boardroom cabal, a dead man’s legacy, backstabbing trustees, conniving millionaires -- so it goes in “The Art of the Steal,” a new documentary about the controversial relocation of the world’s largest private collection of post-impressionist and modern art.
Albert C. Barnes, who made money by selling pharmaceuticals and spent it on art in the first half of the 20th century, assembled a $25 billion collection that he housed in an elegant Beaux-Arts mansion outside Philadelphia.
The trove held through his Barnes Foundation includes 181 Renoirs, 69 Cezannes, 59 Matisses, 46 Picassos, 16 Modiglianis and seven Van Goghs. Barnes, who had eccentric tastes in display, insisted that the paintings be hung densely amid medieval relics, African art and modernist furniture.
Barnes established the foundation in 1922 with a mandate to use the collection for art education, not commercial display. The artworks couldn’t be lent, sold or moved. The galleries were to be open to the public only two days a week; other days were dedicated to educational programs.
“It’s the Harvard MBA of teaching someone how to understand art,” said Lenny Feinberg, a real-estate developer and a former Barnes Foundation student who financed the documentary, in a recent interview in Manhattan.
Directed by Don Argott, the film opens in New York and Philadelphia today just as the art prepares to relocate to the City of Brotherly Love. The documentary portrays the 5-mile move as a cynical violation of everything Barnes stood for.
Media Baron
The film follows the foundation’s history, Barnes’s contentious relationship with the city’s establishment, including Walter Annenberg, a media baron who owned a chunk of the Pennsylvania Railroad, consorted with world leaders and was made an honorary knight of the Order of the British Empire after serving as U.S. ambassador to the Court of St. James.
Using dozens of interviews (with former students and teachers, writers, art dealers and museum curators), original documents, newspaper clips, old film footage and photographs, the documentary builds suspense like a good political thriller. At its fast-beating heart is a conspiracy involving major foundations.
“It’s a story of David and Goliath,” said producer Sheena Joyce. “Dr. Barnes is David. It’s his idea that’s being attacked by the outside forces.”
After Death
The film shows how after Barnes’s death in 1951, his wishes concerning the foundation were continually eroded, often with Annenberg’s support: from forcing the galleries to stay open to the public more days a week to the collection’s world tour in the mid-1990s.
One of the most dramatic parts involves the takeover of the foundation by what the film refers to as a “cabal” of powerful nonprofits, including the Pew Charitable Trusts, the Annenberg Foundation and the Lenfest Foundation.
“It was a nonprofit corporate takeover,” Feinberg said.
The three foundations declined numerous requests to be interviewed in the film, the producers said. The Annenberg Foundation and the Lenfest Foundation didn’t return calls seeking comment.
“There’s no data whatsoever to support these allegations,” said Rebecca W. Rimel, president and chief executive officer of the Pew Charitable Trusts. “It’s completely baseless.”
Lincoln’s Power
The Barnes board of trustees originally had five seats. Barnes gave the power to nominate four trustees to Pennsylvania’s Lincoln University, affording it control of the board and the foundation.
In 2000, the foundation announced it was broke. In 2002, it asked the court to allow it to add 10 new seats “to facilitate fundraising,” and to move its collection to Philadelphia. “Months before the petition,” the Barnes board asked the Pew, the Annenberg and the Lenfest for help; the three nonprofits offered to raise $150 million to help move the collection and provide an endowment, Rimel said.
The film suggests that in return the three foundations gained control over the new seats on the Barnes board. Rimel said that the donors had “the right to consult with the Barnes board. And the consultation was on a one-time basis.”
In 2004, the Barnes obtained a court ruling that allowed the collection to move to Philadelphia, on the assumption that more visitors would generate more money.
“It wasn’t just about moving paintings,” said Joyce. “Art is commerce. Charity is big business.”
“The Art of the Steal” will be shown at the IFC Center and Lincoln Plaza Cinemas in New York and the Ritz 5 in Philadelphia, starting today.
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