This was my third visit to the Barnes, and I could still do several more. There was so much there, and it takes a while to orient yourself to absorb the richness of the collection. It is essentially the same arrangement as it had in Merion, but there is LIGHT, and you can actually see the fabulous paintings.

This is truly an amazing place, faithfully recreating the Barnes collection as it was displayed in his home in Merion. We had visited the home years ago and it was rather a humble place compared to the new foundation building. It is a remarkable feat the one man could have amassed such a massive and eclectic collection of art created... More

Visited the Barnes yesterday to see how the new location measured up to the original in Merion. We were pleasantly surprised. The exterior is quite modern looking but once you got inside you almost felt as though you were inside Mr. Barnes's home. Every piece of art is hung exactly the way it was in Merion. Definitely spend the few... More

I am not an "arty" but this collection is astounding. The setting is magnificent, the arrangement of the pieces is very thoughtful, and the overall experience is very satisfying. Well worth the price and time.

it is quite an extraordinary museum by the sheer number of renoir (183) and cesanne (84) without counting the picasso,modigliani, rousseau, van gogh, gauguin etc.. + very beautiful objects as well. Faithfully replicated from its original location, the rooms are encased in a modern building that are more adapted to receive more visitors. if one does not know about the... More

No other museum in the world has such a collection. A must go for those that love Impressionist art.

While there are some great works by Renoir, Cezanne, Matisse, and a few by Picasso and Van Gogh, the presentation of the various pieces is crowded and utterly chaotic which compromises one's ability to enjoy a given painting. At times I thought I was playing "where's Waldo". Also, there are a lot of "why is this being displayed" pieces mixed... More

People with average museum-tourist knowledge of art will find some of this enjoyable and some of it confusing or annoying. So will people with deeper knowledge of art history and curatorship, but for different reasons. The obvious, often distracting reverence for Barnes and his putative (but sometimes debatable) connoisseurship; the focus on only a few pieces per room, sometimes missing... More

I have been living in the Philadelphia area almost 20 years, and I have followed the controversy over Dr Barnes collection. It is different than any other art museum I have seen. The displays are bizarre, but I found that it made the art all that more interesting as I puzzled over why Barnes arranged it the way he did.... More