A class on the founder of the Barnes Foundation in Lower Merion being held by the former Foundation head, Kimberly Camp, paints a kinder and gentler picture of the sometimes controversial figure, writes Kevin Riordan for Philly.com.
Camp, who is also an artist, craftswoman, and museum professional, is holding the “Albert C. Barnes and African Americans” class at her Galerie Marie in Philadelphia on Monday evenings.
“There’s a mythology about Barnes, that he was nasty and cantankerous and spiteful,” explained Camp.
She added that while one of the books written about him says that he gifted his collection of amazing artwork to historically black Lincoln University to “thumb his nose at society, Barnes had every intention, and specifically said, that the collection should be accessible to working people and African Americans.”
Read more about the class at Philly.com by clicking here.
