Dr. Albert Barnes spent decades assembling what is arguably the greatest private art collection ever put together — over 180 Renoirs, 69 Cézannes, and 59 Matisses, plus works by Picasso, Modigliani, Seurat, and El Greco, hung alongside Pennsylvania German ironwork, Native American jewelry, and African masks in combinations Barnes called "ensembles." The point was not to hang art alphabetically or chronologically but to train the eye to see across cultures and centuries simultaneously.
The collection moved from its original Merion home to this purpose-built building on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway in 2012, which Barnes's will had explicitly prohibited. That battle — pitting the art world establishment against Barnes's heirs and a documentary filmmaker — made headlines for years. The new building replicates the original room layouts exactly, so the ensembles remain intact, but the setting is now accessible and centrally located. Book tickets in advance; the Barnes is one of Philadelphia's most visited attractions, and weekend slots sell out.