I do not disagree with any points made by Ms. McClea about the history of
the Barnes Foundation.  I particularly concur that the neighborhood problems
emerged subsequent to the shift of board control to Lincoln University, a
historically black college, although the interactions of former board
president Richard Glanton with Lower Merion Township, as well as with the
international arts communities, were extremely problematic.

I am second to none in my admiration for the contributions to art and
education made by John Dewey.  I am a product of one of Dewey's other
legacies, the arts education programs that prevailed in the Cleveland, Ohio
public schools of the 1940s, 50s and 60s.  I think the collection Barnes
assembled and his efforts to make this collection available first and
foremost to ordinary folk are remarkable.

I also  think, that any reasonable reading of the history will demonstrate
that Barnes intentions have been undercut and thwarted by some of his
private issues.  Some of the Barnes financial problems can be traced to
Barnes restrictions on the investments he left in trust.  The absence of a
well developed collegial relationship between the Barnes and other
educational organizations and collections, including the ones in the Barnes
own neighborhood, has not served anyone well.

While I wholeheartedly support the preservation of Barnes collection intact,
his installations, and his ideas (and the gardens and houses connected to
the collection), I believe that there is a financial crisis that threatens
its survival.  It makes, in the end, very little difference whether one
describes this as the survival of a museum or the survival of an educational
institution, since the organization appears to be self-sustaining as
neither.  This crisis is much more than a question of "access."  I also
believe that the preservation and furtherance of Barnes intentions may, in
the end, require the partial or total destruction of the legal structures he
left in place. The question that may well find itself articulated in Orphans
Court is this: "In this day and age, and with the best understanding of what
is likely to be the circumstances in coming decades, does it better serve
Barnes intentions to change the charter and revisit the restrictions, or
cling to them as they were written prior to 1952?"  It is a Solomonic
question, absolutely.  I don't know the answer.  I am not sure that anyone
does.

But I would not argue at depth these points, as Ms. McClea would not, in
this forum, and I readily concede that I do not have access to those
archives and that my information about the Barnes comes from Barnes' and
Dewey's published writings, newspaper articles, art magazines, and a variety
of books.

I would, however, express my deep disagreement that a clear line can be
drawn between an "educational institution" and a "museum."  Barnes'
educational institution exists only because it first assembled a collection
of art (artifacts, botanical specimens, etc.), built a structure to house
that collection, and opened it to the public (or to such members of the
public that he deemed worthy to come in).  A large number of collections
similarly began as study collections in colleges, universities, and
libraries.  In it's commitment to the preservation and interpretation of
these objects, the Barnes, is indeed a museum.  Self-styled museums
recognize, as do the different public and private agencies that fund them,
their responsibilities as educators.  Museums have very individualized
philosophies of education, making them not a monolith against which the
Barnes Foundation stands apart, but part of the mass of educational
institutions of which the Barnes is a unique and special member.

I remember fighting the battle of "museum vs. educational institution" some
years ago at the Des Moines Art Center (the result of that battle would
determine how much, if any, sales tax DMAC would have to pay on building
materials for the Meier wing).

Everyday in every institution that displays a collection, there is ongoing
discussion about the primacy of collection, preserving, interpreting, and
education in reference to those collections.
This discussion is central to the life and efficacy of any institution with
a collection.  It shouldn't be a battle.

Ellen B. Cutler
LNB Associates: Writing, Editing, Proofreading, Research Services.
Aberdeen, MD

----- Original Message -----
From: Robin Muse McClea <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Tuesday, March 20, 2001 7:04 AM
Subject: Museum crisis issues at The Barnes Foundation


> Please allow me to respectfully disagree with Ms. Cutler regarding the
> history of issues in museum crisis management at The Barnes Foundation.
> There has been a long history of misinformation about this organization
and
> the archives of the Philadelphia Inquirer will not allay this.
>
> The Barnes Foundation was created by its founder, Albert C. Barnes, as an
> educational institution.  The collections, including fine art, decorative
> art, furniture and a living plant collection on a 12-acre arboretum, were
all
> created as teaching collections.  The intent was never to create a public
> gallery or museum, though public visitation over the years has established
> that identity for the organization.  The Foundation continues to offer
> classes in the study of aesthetics, philosophy and appreciation of art and
> the study of the traditions of art history, as well as a respected
> horticulture program, which we believe might have been the first in the
> region.
>
> The issues you mention for which the Foundation is currently receiving so
> much attention in the media, are at their root:
> Issues of Access:  The township of Lower Merion controls, through zoning
> board rulings, the number of visitors that may visit the Foundation, the
days
> of the week they may visit, and the type of transportation they must use.
> The township requires advance reservations and Montgomery County Orphan's
> Court controls the admission fee of $5.00.  The township has also
attempted
> to control the enrollment in classes, by setting limits on the numbers.
> Neighbors really do stop tour busses driving on our street and harass
school
> teachers and students if they are not riding in the appropriate vehicle,
one
> that seats no more than 26 passengers.  The township police and
administrator
> really do show up at the front gate when neighbors call to complain that
the
> wrong vehicle is here.  And we really can be held in contempt of the
township
> zoning ruling if we allow visitors on the property if they arrived in the
> wrong vehicle.
> Inner city schools are effectively prohibited from visiting the Foundation
> because neighbors are complaining about school busses. (Don't you think it
is
> strange that our next door neighbor is a private school that receives and
> dispenses 60+ school busses, five days a week, using the same street
access
> our visitors must use?)  Inner city schools do not have discretionary
funds
> to pay for the "appropriate vehicle" to travel to the Barnes Foundation.
This
> is one of the many projects for which we are seeking financial support.
> These issues are not quirky, self-imposed constraints.
> The bigger issue here is that of restrictions a local government entity
has
> imposed on a non-profit institution effectively prohibiting its ability to
> function.
> I first visited the Barnes Foundation as a young art student in the 70's.
> Cars parked on the street in front of the Foundation and visitors stood in
> line to visit the gallery on Sunday afternoons.  Is it not strange that
the
> neighbors didn't complain until the Board of Trustees were all replaced
> (according to the charter) with individuals who are all African American?
> Issues of the rights of a non-profit organization:  The Superior Court of
> Pennsylvania ruled in 1998 that The Foundation may hold fund-raising
events
> on the grounds of the organization, like every other non-profit
organization
> holds, in order to ensure its fiscal stability and longevity.
> Issues of financial stability:  While I choose not  debate details of
> financial issues in this forum, The Foundation is for the first time in
its
> history, seeking financial support from appropriate sources, as a
non-profit
> organization.  Following the death of Dr. and Mrs. Barnes no one paid
> attention to the fact that the endowment would be depleted if it was
> consistently spent and no measures were taken to replenish it.  These are
the
> efforts in which the Foundation is engaging, (successfully), that are
> creating such a stir in the Philadelphia region.
> Those supporting the move of the Foundation to the City of Philadelphia,
are
> not necessarily concerned about issues of access but are bowled over by
the
> dazzling collection of fine art housed here.  They are viewing the
Foundation
> as a "museum," ignoring the fact that it is a school and hoping to benefit
> financially from moving the collection into the city.  This move,
> incidentally, would eliminate the science/horticulture component of the
> school and organization because the proposed site is not a historical
> arboretum.
> Issues of changing the charter of a non-profit organization:  A neighbor
> argues that the charter of the Foundation has been changed by allowing
> fund-raising events on the grounds.  This however, does not fundamentally
> effect the mission of the organization.  To break up the fine art
collection,
> install it in a different manner, to separate it from the living plant
> collection and to subrogate the educational role of the organization will
> fundamentally change the mission of the organization.
>
> The location of the Foundation was selected by Dr. and  Mrs. Barnes
because
> of their interest in the arboretum that dates to the late 19th century.
The
> education programs here at the Barnes Foundation are models for learning
that
> our colleagues in education and in the museum field are revisiting by way
of
> Constructivism, experiential learning, inquiry-based learning and some are
> even exploring John Dewey's writings.  (Dewey was the first director of
> education and a guiding force behind Barnes and the creation of his school
> here.)  Ironically, Barnes' interest was in providing access to education,
in
> the arts and science, to those who for reasons of race or economic status,
> did not have those opportunities.  Restricting enrollment, visitation,
mode
> of transportation and the organization's ability to raise funds to remain
> open, restricts access in multiple ways.
>
> Crisis? Yes, every day staff faces issues that no other institution must
> face, distracting valuable time and resources from our tasks as an
> organization.  The story is not that the organization can't get along with
> neighbors.  The story is, at its base, about access and survival.
>
> Finally, archival research, is not best practiced through the archives of
The
> Philadelphia Inquirer.  The numerous biographies of Barnes and books on
The
> Foundation are not authorized and full of inaccuracies and misinformation.
> The best place to begin research on The Foundation is in the 500,000 +
> documents in the archives of The Barnes Foundation.  Unfortunately, they
are
> not all indexed and are not available for scholarly research, yet. (I can
> hear many of you drooling at the thought.)  This is one of the many
projects
> for which we are seeking financial support.
>
> Robin Muse McClea
> Director of Education
> The Barnes Foundation
>
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