The Art of the Steal
by Steven Woskow
A moving story of the greatest theft of private property by the state and
its powerful allies in the civic and charitable community.
It is my dream to create an art which is filled with balance, purity
and calmness, freed from a subject matter that is disconcerting or too
attention-seeking. In my paintings, I wish to create a spiritual remedy,
similar to a comfortable armchair which provides rest from physical
expectation for the spiritually working, the businessman as well as the
artist. ~ Henri-Matist
The dream of the artist Henri-Matist was embodied in the art collection
of Dr. Albert C. Barnes and the Barnes Foundation. The Barnes Foundation
(founded in 1922) located in Merion Pennsylvania about 5 miles outside
Philadelphia is home (and I literally mean home) to some of the greatest
art treasures in the modern world, Matisse, Renoir, Cézzane, Picaso, van
Gogh, Monet to name just a few. It is estimated to be worth $25–$35
billion and considered the world's greatest collection of Impressionist,
Post-Impressionist and Early Modern art. The collection includes such
great works as The Portrait of the Postman Joseph Roulin (van
Gogh), The Card Players (Cézanne) and The Joy of Life
(Matisse). Dr. Barnes was one of the few collectors that viewed African
Art not as primitive cultural artifacts but as works of art equal to the
great works of Europe. To think of Dr. Barnes as simply an art lover or
collector does not do him justice. Dr Barnes understood what Matist was
searching for in his dreams – balance, purity, calmness, a spiritual
remedy for businessman as well as the artist. Dr. Barnes built his
Foundation and displayed his art (and it was his art) in his house
organized not by artist or subject but by the aesthetic and spiritual
connection between the pieces. A van Gogh is hung next to a door lock, a
piece of furniture or an African sculpture. The rooms are comfortable so
one can pause for any length and contemplate the great works. The site is
adorned with beautiful gardens and located in a serene neighborhood in
Lower Merion, PA. Unfortunately, by 2012 it will all be gone.
The Art Of The Steal is a riveting movie that shows how the
state and its powerful allies in the art and charitable establishment
trample the private property rights of the individual who in the words of
the great artist Henri-Matist created "the only sane place to see
art in America."
Dr. Barnes himself is a classic example of the power of free markets. He
was born into poverty and grew up in the low income neighborhoods around
Philadelphia. He financed his college education by boxing professionally.
He became a chemist and physician, invented and patented Argyrol a
substitute for Silver Nitrate which, at the time, was put in the eyes of
every baby born in the USA to prevent venereal disease (an unintended
consequence of war). He made his fortune in pharmaceuticals and used his
fortune to gather the world’s greatest collection of early and postmodern
art. In 1923 he displayed seventy-five paintings including works of
Soutine, Picasso, Chirico, and Matisse at the Philadelphia Academy of the
Fine Arts. The art and Dr. Barnes were excoriated by the Philadelphia art
establishment, mainly the powerful Philadelphia Enquirer owned by
Moses Annenberg (the father of Walter Annenberg who later in life
established the "The Annenberg Foundation" one of the key
players in the state confiscation of Dr. Barnes private property). His
experience left him bitter and hostile towards the Philadelphia art
establishment and the Philadelphia Enquirer. Another event had a great
influence on Barnes decision to move the art out of Philadelphia. John G.
Johnson an attorney to some of the most powerful men in the world
including J.P. Morgan and Andrew Carnegie was the owner of a substantial
art collection himself. He died on April 14, 1917 and donated his
collection to the citizens of Philadelphia but directed that the art be
preserved in his home on S. Broadstreet in Philadelphia. A few years
later The Philadelphia Museum of Art opened a new neoclassical wing and
needed art to fill it. By 1933 the museum came up with an
"extraordinary reason" to move the collection. They convinced
Philadelphia’s "Orphans Court" (with the full backing of the
Philadelphia Enquirer) that the paintings were threatened because
Johnson’s home was not fireproof. The home was condemned and the art
moved to the museum under the stipulation the museum honor the remaining
provisions of the will to keep the collection together (in 1989 the
museum convinced the court to allow them to break up the collection for a
"more unified presentation"). Barnes witnessed this in 1933 and
vowed they (the Philadelphia art establishment, socialites and
politicians of Philadelphia) would never get a hold of his collection –
unfortunately Dr. Barnes underestimated the power of the state. Dr.
Barnes was killed in 1951 in a car crash (was it an accident?). This left
the Barnes Foundation in the hands of Violette de Mazia who was Director
of Education. During her life the Barnes Foundation stayed true to Dr.
Barnes's Will and Testament, it stayed in Merion and was used primarily
to educate. The public could view the collection but only during limited
hours. Unfortunately, Barnes had no children so when Mrs. de Mazia died
the Barnes Trust was put in the hands of Liberty College a small, private
all black college located in Pennsylvania and placed under the control of
a 5 member board (as per Dr. Barnes will). Later Liberty College becomes
a state school which is chronically underfunded. Yet, under the direction
of Franklin Williams (the Lincoln Trustee), and an outside advisory board
of art experts, the conditions of the Barnes Trust were honored. Around
1990 Williams dies of cancer. Now the question becomes who appoints board
members (or as Lenin put it "who whom"). This is when the
wheels were set in motion by powerful forces in Philadelphia, the art
establishment and the state of Pennsylvania to steal the collection from
the Barnes Foundation "for the public good" and move it out of
Merion to Philadelphia. At this point the movie plays out like a great
Hollywood crime mystery with state institutions and individual
politicians playing the villains. The movie chronicles in great detail
the chain of events that lead to a complete and udder disregard for
private property rights. I am no Constitutional lawyer, but this may be
the most extreme and egregious case in American history of state
violation of private property rights.
The movie was directed and produced by Don Argott and Sheena Joyce. It
was funded by Lenny Feinberg (a student of The Barnes Foundation and
wealthy real estate investor). Mr. Fienberg said he "stewed"
when he heard the foundation's collection was being moved to Philadelphia
which explicitly goes against Dr. Barnes 1951 will, which stated that
"the foundation shall always be an educational institute, and the
paintings shall never be removed, sold or loaned." Other students of
the Barnes Foundation appear in the movie including Nick Tinari (A Barnes
attorney) who is interviewed between shouts of "Philistines"
and "have fun now – wait until it’s your will" at people
attending a museum event celebrating the move of the Barnes collection to
Philadelphia. My only criticism of the movie is that it does not verbally
make a stronger use of the constitutional argument for private property
rights and often comes off as critical of capitalism when it shouldn't.
After all, it was capitalism that provided the means for Dr. Barnes to
acquire the wealth used to purchase these great art pieces. But, this is
a minor criticism. The story itself is a powerful reminder of the
corruption of the state. From the abuse of civil rights laws (the
powerful interests sued the neighbors of the Barnes Foundation using the
Federal Ku Klux Clan Act), the unholy alliance between the state and
powerful "public charitable" trusts headed by the Pew
Foundation, power seeking individuals and corrupt politicians (including
the "dishonorable" Governor Edward G. Rendell who does his
pathetic best to defend the state). This is a story that every freedom
loving Libertarian needs to know. There are so many lessons to be learned
from this event that a short review simply cannot do justice to it. The
movie is well done and the story is riveting. I can think of no better
vehicle for teaching why the framers of the Constitution were so adamant
that a free and just society respects private property rights and
coercive tyrants don't. The dream of Matist was realized in the art
collected by a private individual and destroyed by the nightmare of state
abuse.
http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig11/woskow1.1.1.html
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