Barnes Foundation Review

A+. A fantastic collection of art two separate people recommend when I was in the area.

The history of this museum is fascinating. How the whole building is a copy of the original Barnes gallery, which was not open to the general public. And how Barnes started to add items to this private collection, up to a point where it's basically invaluable (I read estimated values for the whole collection priced in tens of billions dollars). And how chaotic is arranged, with the paintings cramped into the walls, because of lack of space of the original gallery

Great works of art.. beautifully structure and informative staff. Yet don't expect to snag any pictures inside fed galleries

Wonderful and awesome collection, clever and interesting arrangements, interesting people to meet and discuss with. Good food, friendly staff (as long as you stand behind the lines and move through the doorways ). Easy to enjoy 3 or more hours at a calm pace, plus interesting books and reproductions at the Store. If you can return within a year, and you'll want to since there are too many masterpieces to absorb in one visit, become a patron at least, $90 of which $60 is tax deductible, with other perks including fee visits for you, sand 2 free guest visits (each about $25 without membership).

Super interesting place to go see art in a unique space.

Interesting plate to visit in Philadelphia. Nice exposition.

Amazing private collection...though you wouldn't feel like seeing another Renoir for a while...

Enjoyed an insightful tour of Berthe Morisot this afternoon.

Pretty neat place to work and great get together for their members...

World-class collection and a magnificent modern building

Came here during family day and even though it was crowded we we're still able to enjoy ourselves and the art. The seasonal display was very interesting, there was some amazing historic photography being shown. Their permanent displays are truly fantastic and it's nice to see a lot of well-known artist's work here!!! There is sooo much to see! There were so many people here but one security member decided to target my friend and told her that she couldn't hold her coat (that she had to wear it) and then afterwards followed us around the rest of the time. That was very unnecessary and uncomfortable, we wanted to enjoy ourselves.

This museum is filled with excellent works of art! I m not a huge fan of art but I really enjoyed myself. There s a lot to see and don t forget to make a reservation for lunch at their restaurant. It s a small menu but the service and food were excellent!

There are so many amazing works of art. Mostly impressionist, but older pieces also. The location is beautiful. It is on the Benjamin Franklin parkway in Philadelphia. Even though it is not very large, this is definitely an important museum. If you visit Philadelphia, don't miss it!

The Barnes Focus app works well but provides minimal information. Would be nice to incorporate audio. Excellent crowd control. Art collection is without pair.

Easily one of my all time favorite buildings. The area around the Barnes Foundation is gorgeous and very photogenic, and then the inside is even better! They have a ton of amazing art, and the architecture is on point. I highly recommend visiting this museum.

Densely displayed painting artwork from 1880 to 1960. Unless you're an art historian, gain a great deal from docent led tours.

One of the prettiest collections of modern art in an intimate setting. An unforgettable memory

The architecture is very well designed and the detailing and material choices are excellent. However, I really have problem with their skylight design in the main lobby space. The cold skylight and the warm interior really don't go well together, and the same problems are present in many of the exhibition spaces as well.

Outstanding collection. Too bad tickets are pricey and there's always lots of people there.

Wonderful. Great app. Go to the app, point at picture, get information. Unfortunately, didn't work on my phone: (

Absolutely beautiful, best museum in Philly PERIOD!

The Barnes Foundation is an international treasure and we are lucky to have it here in Philadelphia.

One of our highlights in Philadelphia. This incredible art collection is not to be missed. The pop up tours are incredible and we learned so much. Take time to explore.

Now this was an outstanding collection of art! I attended a brunch at the Barnes and was extremely pleased with the entertainment and the food! I would highly recommend putting this on your list of places to visit this summer!

Fairly small museum for the price. Not much variation in terms of paintings.

A great stop if you're visiting Philadelphia for a short period of time! This is one of those museums where you can see a lot in a short amount of time, mostly because of the convenient size. Its not a huge museum and they have very interesting pieces to show. If you're a student in the Philadelphia area, don't forget to show your ID for the discount!

The fabulous Barnes collection, still displayed medallion style as the collector originally hung it. Unbelievable treasures

This is an amazing experience. Seeing billions of dollars worth of art in one place. Many well known artists.

The Barnes Philadelphia is a beautiful building, with a unique salon style display of a priceless collection of paintings, African art and American furniture and hardware. I loved the majority of my experience.

There were inconsistent bag checking policies(at the end of my visit I was asked to check my bag, even though it was fine for the previous 2 hours I spent in the museum). Also the rooms were very small, and it would be a miserable experience on a crowded day.

Absolutely my favorite museum to attend. This gem blows all other museums out of the water. Each room is set up in grids. Art from all ages of time are pieced together and displayed. They also hold contemporary exhibits.
They offer ticket discounts and complimentary coat check on site.
Thank you for preserving the Barnes collection

Great at exhibition. Make sure to buy the tickets online!

We had tickets for 3:30, but didn't get into the gallery until 3:55. The bathrooms are disgusting. Audio #402 is unabashedly supersessionary, perhaps crossing the line into anti-Semitism. The galleries contain pewter objects and furniture that the audio strains, and fails, to contextualize. But if you would decide to visit the Barnes, you need to get the audio because there is not a single sign in any gallery that gives even the title of the work of art, let alone an explanation of it. One upside - the audio is included in the price of admission. Maybe this expense is why they don't clean the bathrooms.

My daughter loved seeing the art and having the interactive website to tell her about the pieces. Here is one of the photos that she took.

The Barnes is by far one of best museums that I have visited throughout the country. When I was an art student in Philadelphia we had a visit to the original Barnes. Great items, and paintings but to cluttered to give the Master's their due. The new facility provides much more space for viewing the Masters in a great sculptural building.

Although reservation was necessary beforehand, when entering inside it is full of famous paintings and is only available, plenty of affordability.
It's a point that I can take pictures freely.

Lives up to the hype. Only problem is six hours they are open is not enough to see the collection thoroughly. Go on a weekday

View art in this fancy schmancy museum set in the heart of the art museum district of philadelphia. Take a look-see at all the paintings of butts that old man Barnes was hoarding and hiding away in his house until he died. Once he died they defied his wishes and moved the art. Now the place is haunted. Pretty cool if you want to hear the ghost of a horny old doctor moaning as he wanders the Halls.

This place is magical. The most incredible art collection arranged in keeping with the collector's vision. Every room was a visual feast and a delight to behold. It is worth a trip to Philadelphia just to see this. The way they manage the flow keeps it from getting too crowded. My wife and I love art museums and this was an experience we'll never forget.

First, super expensive. Cost for two seniors was $54. This places this museum beyond the means of the average working family. Second, galleries are small and lookers can get no closer than about 3 feet from the works. This crowds rooms and makes it almost impossible to identify artists, as each name is on a small gold plaque on each frame--no info posted on walls as in most museums. (Must consult a book in each gallery that identifies works and artists.) Finally, lighting is awful--very dim. Difficult to see little 10" square paintings hung 8 feet from floor! I felt the symmetry Barnes preferred for displaying his collection detracted from its appreciation--never mind cramming works together so that it is impossible to focus on just one w/o being distracted by the others. (I know that the idea is for the groupings to exist as a whole, but that's not for me.)

Nice collection of art and liked the kid's program. Although it is a bit expensive for adults, children are free and it was definately worth the money.

It is the most comprehensive collection of Impressionist Art that I have ever seen!

Great art collection in a lovely building. Eclectic mix and display, heavy in the Renoir.

Amazing collection in a beautiful building. Not to be missed. Visit the Rodin Museum while your at it!

Beautiful works of art. A nice way to spend an afternoon. Easy street parking, with many nearby eateries.

Fantastic! Wish I could have seen this collection 10 years ago in it's original setting, but an amazing collection no matter where it is veiwed.

One cannot have enough Renoir's! Fabulous collection of paintings and art works displayed in a most special way.

If you love impressionism - you should not only go there but to have a memberahip.

I'm no expert, but I wanted to offer a comment as someone who has been in most of the western world's most important art museums.

Masterpiece for masterpiece, the collection of impressionist and post-impressionist paintings is right up there with the D'Orsay, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Met and Courtauld in London. And along with ther Courtauld it is the most intimate and beautiful (if quirky) presentation of that elite group. These sweet intimate, highly personal paintings look so great in these galleries compared to the antiseptic and disorganized Met and the great (though well organized) vastness of the Art Institute.

If you want to learn about the roots of modern art, the Barnes has 7 or 8 canvasses (starting with Matisse's Joie de Vivre) that had worldwide impact. They have been well known to art historians but not as much to the general public because the Barnes collection never toured and visitation was so limited.

It's one of the greatest Cezanne collections in the world and undoubtedly the world's greatest Renoir collection, weighted toward his final period so lots of pictures obsessing over the skin tones of his models and mistresses. If you take it seriously, there is an abstract brilliance in this obsession -- akin to Monet's focus on water lillies at the end of his life. The late Renoirs had a big influence on Picasso which you can see in Picasso's work in the 30s and 40s.

The quantity of Renoir and Cezanne is so huge, it's possible to miss the very significant holdings by other painters. The De Chiricos are spread out in different rooms, but it's one of the world's best collections by that painter. It might be the best single collection of Chaim Soutine -- a wonderful artist who has gotten a lot of attention recently. The Barnes has 9 or 10 Soutines -- in fact Albert Barnes bought out Soutine's whole studio at a time Soutine was unknown and starving, and really made his career.

There's a terrific collection of Jules Pascin. Some top quality Modiglianis and Rousseaus. An amazing and shocking Courbet. First rate rose period and blue period Picassos, great Van Goghs, one of the most important Seurats world. There are probably 30 or 40 pictures of truly world significance.

If you're serious about art, you should plan at least two days to enjoy the Barnes. It's just overwhelming.

You will never experience a museum like this anywhere else in the world. A better collection of French post impressionist than the Musee D'Orsay, worth hundreds of millions of dollars. A little over the top in Renoirs. Skip the tours and catch the docent highlights.

The Renoir works are overwhelming. From the outside, the building is very large, and the actual exhibition space is narrow. There is a lot of art work in the small space, so it is not easy to visit even if the number of visitors is limited. I bought a ticket and went in. I stood in a long line, and when I asked for a special exhibition line, the general exhibition line was so long ... There is no description of the work and only the artist name is written under the picture frame. When I scanned my work with a mobile phone, it was wonderful to see the artist name, work name, year and so on.

One of the most special museums I have ever been in.

Rules, rules, rules. You pay 25 bucks per adult, and then you learn you have to throw away your water, and then you learn that you can't carry your jacket in such and such way, and you can't wear it in such and such way, and you have to be here, and not there... You'd think it's to keep the art safe, but no, they didn't check our bags. We walked out, and requested a refund on the tickets.
One thing we did notice inside the museum itself is that there is zero information on the art. If you're a super-obedient art expert and know what you're looking for, this is for you. Otherwise, no thank you folks, please keep your precious art and your precious rules.

Must visit if you are in PHL. The guides are very knowledgeable and nice to talk to.

I got my girlfriend a postcard here and she loved it. Mission accomplished

Nice place, a lot of good paintings, free coat check and Wi-Fi.

Amazing number of paintings from Renoir, very impressed. A few Monet here and there. Modigliani is well represented. Matisse has dedicated walls with large paintings. Some walls mix different periods so you can compare. I liked also the metal works there (ferroneries) it is a good idea to have them as part of a museum.

My first visit to the Barnes is unforgettable. Beautiful building, fascinating back story, marvelous curating brilliantly connecting diverse pieces, an app that no visitor should miss using (which led to the whole collection in my email inbox the next day), and an excellent lunch venue.

Absolutely beautiful museum, very unique - they don't have the usual placards on the wall telling you what's what, but pamphlets explaining it

Beautiful paintings inside and serene ambient outside...1st Sunday's are free though plz make sure you reach there around 9 am because they usually sold out. You can also just enjoy the beautiful ambient outside sit, relax and enjoy the moment.

I visited this place in early March 2020 before it closed due to Covid-19.
Beautiful private collection with hundreds of mostly impressionist works mainly by Renoir. Nothing to say, splendid for lovers of the genre.

O.m.g. I dont even know where to begin. If you love art this is a must go. This is by far the most amazing collection of works I have ever had the pleasure of viewing. So many works by Picasso, Renior, Matisse, Cezanne, Seraut.... and so many more. There is no way to take it all in, in just a day but it does make for an amazing day. Wow is all I can say about the place. Just wow.