A fascinating biography of the philanthropist Albert Barnes, whose pioneering collection of modern art was meant to transform America’ s soul
From prominent critic and biographer Blake Gopnik comes a compelling new portrait of America’ s first great collector of modern art, Albert Coombs Barnes. Raised in a Philadelphia slum shortly after the Civil War, Barnes rose to earn a medical degree and then made a fortune from a pioneering antiseptic treatment for newborns. Never losing sight of the working-class neighbors of his youth, Barnes became a ruthless advocate for their rights and needs. His vast art collection— 181 Renoirs, 69 Cé zannes, 59 Matisses, 46 Picassos— was dedicated to enriching their cultural lives. A miner was more likely to get access than a mine owner.
Gopnik’ s meticulous research reveals Barnes as a fierce advocate for the egalitarian ideals of his era’ s progressive movement. But while his friends in the movement worked to reshape American society, Barnes wanted to transform the nation’ s aesthetic life, taking art out of the hands of the elite and making it available to the average American.
The Maverick’ s Museum offers a vivid picture of one of America’ s great eccentrics. The sheer ferocity of Barnes’ s democratic ambitions left him with more enemies than allies among people of all classes, but for a circle of intimates, he was a model of intelligence, generosity, and loyalty. In this compelling portrait, Gopnik reveals a life shaped by contradictions, one that left a lasting impact.
