Barnes Foundation Art Gallery

Ray Perelman and the Barnes Foundation mess

In the latest report in the Inquirer, Philadelphia is getting another dose of Family Feud of the Super Wealthy with news of the legal dispute between Raymond Perelman and his son Jeffrey. Last spring Philadelphia magazine published a detailed account of the dispute that includes some important historical footnotes to keep in mind as they relate to important events in the region. That includes the fact that Ray Perelman “approached Ed Rendell with the brash idea of moving the Barnes to the city in the early ’90s…”.

Legend has it that Ray Perelman stood in the Main Gallery at The Barnes, looked around at the vast treasured art collection amassed by Albert C. Barnes and said in effect, “This is too good for Merion. Let’s get this out of here and move it downtown.”

People who claim that the plan to move the Barnes is not the hideous creature of The Powers That Be don’t get how things work around here. The Philadelphia magazine piece quotes someone who grew up with Ray’s sons Ron and Jeffrey, saying of Ray, “…he’s part of this group of 100 people who have made 50 percent of the decisions in Philadelphia for the last 40 or 50 years…” There has been no public debate on the Barnes move, only maneuvers of the political and legal systems. Some of the activity is described in "Behind the Barnes Bonanza" by David D'Arcy.

Also note in the Philadelphia magazine article the name of the lawyer who handled the Perelman’s contract that is the source of the current dispute: Arlin Adams, described as “a longtime family friend and a former judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.” That is the same Arlin Adams who opened the court hearings on the Barnes matter in 2004 claiming, “I think I'm the only one in this room and maybe in any room who knew Dr. Barnes…” That was a foretaste of more fiction to come in the court hearings.

The hearings were unopposed by the Attorney General who was described as “supine" and ended with Ray Perelman and others appearing to achieve what they wanted. They got the judge's permission to move the Barnes art collection to Philadelphia. Naturally they assumed that would be that. They were wrong. The project might have started on the Parkway but it's far from finished and money is tight and getting tighter.

Meanwhile, opposition to the move has never let up and it’s not letting up any time soon.

Vandalism Strikes Friends of the Barnes Foundation Community Billboard

For years, community advocates Nancy and Walter Herman have mounted large signs supporting preservation of the Barnes Foundation on their fence on North Latch’s Lane in Merion. This morning they discovered that overnight vandals had destroyed the newest sign with red spray paint. The poster is an illustration of Dr. Albert C. Barnes surrounded by the many artists whose work he collected, including Henri Matisse, with the caption “Why spend hundreds of millions on a faux Barnes when we have the original?” In addition to the spray paint on the sign, the Herman’s “Join the Fight to Save the Barnes” lawn sign had been ripped up from their property and thrown over the fence of the Barnes Foundation, which is directly across the street.

Barnes preservation advocate Evelyn Yaari commented on the vandalism, saying, “This is obviously an attempt to intimidate our group. We are not intimidated and will continue speaking out against the outrageous, politically-driven plan to move the Barnes art collection from the only setting where it can have historic integrity.”

The Hermans are members of Friends of the Barnes Foundation, which represents the organized opposition to the plan to remove the Barnes art collection from the historic Merion complex where Dr. Albert C. Barnes founded schools for art appreciation and horticulture that he wished to remain in Merion in perpetuity.

PA Treasurer McCord, Auditor General Wagner: Time to Stop Waste of Tax Money on Barnes Foundation Boondoggle

Angela Couloumbis and Tracie Mauriello report in today’s Philadelphia Inquirer about a truly great opportunity for Pennsylvania’s top two fiscal officers – Auditor General Jack Wagner and Treasurer Rob McCord – to pull back hard on the reigns of out-of-control state spending and save Pennsylvania taxpayers from participating in the disgraceful Barnes move.

Wagner and McCord were interviewed about departing Governor Rendell’s $1 billion bond proposal to fund projects throughout Pennsylvania that would add an immense burden to the state’s debt burden. The Inquirer reports: “Adding $1 billion into the mix would increase the debt an additional 12 percent to $9 billion, which, Wagner said, "is too much to put on the backs of our children and grandchildren." Jack Wagner, the state’s top fiscal “watchdog” has refused to approve the bond proposal.

Times of political transitions are fraught with risks to the public interest as departing politicians take one last whack at the public coffers to repay political “debts” and Governor Ed Rendell’s use of public funds for pet projects is nothing short of legendary, and we mean massive. Among the projects that would be affected by Jack Wagner and Rob McCord saying “No.” to the $1 billion bond proposal is the Parkway Barnes, among others.

Treasurer McCord’s reflections on the situation, saying, "I regard transitions to be delicate times in governance - times when elected constitutional officers such as myself have a special obligation to be respectful both to the ongoing needs of government and to the preferences and priorities of the incoming administration," McCord wrote to Corbett. "This is especially so during a time of financial crisis."

You said it, Treasurer McCord. Now, show Pennsylvanians that you also are respectful to the preferences and priorities of taxpayers, thousands of whom have signed petitions that state "No" to public funding for the Barnes move.

The Moving Crew: The Barnes Foundation Board of ‘Trustees’

(drawing of Bernard Watson, Judge Ott, et al. by William Ternay)

Lots has been written about the controversial plan to dismantle the historic Barnes Foundation, but little about the people responsible for it, the Barnes Board of Trustees.

A little background: Originally the Board had five members. In 2004, the Court gave permission for the Board to increase to 15 members in order to increase the capacity to raise funds. Of the 15 trustees, Pew Charitable Trusts and the Lenfest Foundation have the right to approve seven of the new Trustees. The Barnes Board has never had more than 13.

Clause 32. from the Barnes Foundation’s successful court petition spells things out this way:

“Among the changes to the Bylaws will be expansion of The Foundation’s Board of Trustees from five to fifteen members…For the election of these final trustees on the initial expanded Board, Pew and Lenfest would jointly have the power to approve the nominations, so that they could help ensure the success of their charitable investment...”

In plain English, the Board would be expanded in a way that ensures that it does exactly what philanthropy behemoths Pew and Lenfest want it to do: move the Barnes art collection to Philadelphia. Meanwhile, the clear, noble intentions in Dr. Albert C. Barnes’s extraordinary gift of the Merion art, architecture, and arboretum complex he described as “indivisible” forever are thrown to the dustbin by the new Board.

Before we get into who these folks are, let’s look at some Board-related issues that came up before they became Trustees. The Barnes court proceedings explored ways to fix the financial problem at The Barnes, where there was an operating deficit of just over $1 million a year at the time and a depleted endowment. A huge amount of time in court was spent on the idea that there was no way to generate a new endowment of $50 million. The assets of the Barnes Foundation that could be sold were somehow not quite enough. But that’s a strange approach when you plan to have a large Board of wealthy people. If the Barnes Board could fix the financial problems with modest contributions of $3.3 million each, why was selling stuff the only alternative to moving the art collection? Because the goal of the Board was to move the art collection, not to preserve The Barnes in Merion, despite its being easily sustainable with modest Board support. The Barnes Board of Trustees was the stacked deck needed to pull off the move.

A New York Times article on the cost to sit on prestigious museum boards reports that “’Give, get or get off’ is a motto many in the cultural world know well. Trustees who cannot donate from their personal funds are expected to raise an equivalent amount from others…” That is the accepted behavior of trustees throughout the country, but here in Philadelphia things are done differently. That the new Board was the appropriate source for funding the endowment never came up as an alternative to moving the Barnes. Instead, the petition cleverly glommed together expansion of the Board and permission to move for a specific purpose: get the Barnes art collection out of Merion and into Philadelphia. Everything fed into that and no effort whatsoever would be made to keep it in Merion.

Pew and Company can protest all they want that they did not orchestrate a takeover of the Barnes Foundation for the purpose of relocating the collection, building a corrupted, disfigured substitute for the authentic Barnes in Merion: the facts tell a different story.