Missing piano turns up in Ardmore
The Barnes Foundation lost track of the Steinway, along with many other
items. It turns out the organization sold the 1916 instrument to a couple
seven years ago.
By Peter Dobrin, Inquirer Music Critic
Gone from the Barnes Foundation: a Steinway piano, a work by Henri Matisse,
a ceramic vase by filmmaker Jean Renoir, a collection of spirituals on
sheet music - "hundreds of things are missing," executive director Kimberly
Camp said Wednesday.
But it turns out that there's a piano sitting in Barbara and James Abbott's
living room in Ardmore that sounds a lot like the one Camp is talking about.
Steinway? Check.
Came from the Barnes? Check.
The Abbotts bought the piano from the Barnes in 1996 after the foundation
placed an advertisement in the Main Line Times to sell the instrument.
"It was sold by a groundskeeper who had been instructed to get rid of it so
a fax machine could be put in its place and the music room could become a
full-fledged office," Barbara Abbott said. "I tried to engage him about the
instrument, and he said he had no clue about its history."
The asking price in the advertisement was $5,000; the Abbotts paid $3,600
(plus, possibly, a deposit). They know because they have the canceled check.
Camp said Wednesday that a Steinway piano belonging to Laura Barnes, the
wife of Barnes founder Albert C. Barnes, was among "hundreds" of items that
have left the collection. She said the Barnes had not pursued the items
because "we have not been in a position, on a large scale, to go after...
that stuff."
The Barnes' financial condition has been at the center of its argument
before Montgomery County Orphans' Court in the proposal to move its
multibillion-dollar collection from Lower Merion to Center City.
Camp declined to comment on the Steinway yesterday. "It is an old beauty,"
Abbott said. "Jim and I just love the instrument."
Old it is. The 6-foot, 41/2-inch mahogany grand was manufactured in 1916,
and shipped from New York to Stetson & Company in Philadelphia, according
to a Steinway spokesman. It has a cracked soundboard, which is not unusual
in old instruments. Even so, its worth could be in the $12,000-to-$15,000
range, according to Steinway.
Abbott believes her instrument belonged to Laura Barnes - not based on any
evidence, she admits, except for how well the piano was cared for.
"One thing I know is that the music room was always temperature-
controlled," she said. "Mrs. Barnes must have thought a great deal of it to
make sure it was cared for."
Abbott said she did not know who the groundskeeper was. "But it didn't seem
like he was trying to conceal anything. He wasn't even in a rush to get it
out of there."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Contact music critic Peter Dobrin at 215-854-5611 or
[log in to unmask] Inquirer staff writer Patricia Horn contributed to
this article.
=========================================================
Important Subscriber Information:
The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes).
If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).
|
