Rebecca Y

Review of Barnes Foundation

^ 5 stars & worth it to visit this art gallery if ...

^ 5 stars & worth it to visit this art gallery if 1) you're a student (w/ valid id) and 2) it's a weekday bc then the admission is free. Otherwise, you have to pay $10 if you're a student visiting on a weekend or $25 if you're an adult. I would say the gallery is rather small to justify the hefty $25 fee, which, I gather, has led to the dissatisfaction of some reviewers.

Outside Barnes is quite beautiful and a great place to take artsy pictures. I really like how Barnes organized his collection. He didn't conform to the usual criterion of genre and time period to separate the artwork but juxtaposed pieces from the 1600s and 1900s in a way that made sense to him. I loved listening to the audio. I loved how the rooms were quite small, with a bench in the middle. You sit down and you're only 3 feet away from the artwork. There are no labels below each painting (the pieces are explained in a booklet you can find in a slot in the bench), so the ensemble of paintings really exude an organic feel to them.

There's a cafe and a complimentary coatcheck and seriously nice bathrooms (each individual stall has its own sink & mirror) in the basement.

But overall, come if you can avoid the regular admission price; you won't be disappointed!