Robert K. Wittman, 2014. by Travis Simpkins

Robert K. Wittman, 2014. by Travis Simpkins

Portrait Sketch of 

Robert K. Wittman 

Founder, FBI Art Crime Team 

by Travis Simpkins

Robert K. Wittman interview:

For more info, please visit:

www.robertwittmaninc.com

Robert K. Wittman. by Travis Simpkins. FBI Art Crime Team

"Art Held Hostage: The Battle Over the Barnes Collection" by John Anderson

Art Held Hostage: The Battle Over the Barnes Collection

by John Anderson

W.W. Norton & Company. 2003

Brief Review by Travis Simpkins

     Much has changed in the dozen years that have passed since "Art Held Hostage: The Battle Over the Barnes Collection" was first published in 2003… For one, the Barnes Foundation is no longer in it's original location, having moved from Merion to Philadelphia, PA in 2012.  However, despite further legal developments in the saga of the valuable Barnes Collection, John Anderson's wonderful book remains the definitive text on the subject. Founded in 1922 by Dr. Albert C. Barnes, a multimillionaire pharmaceutical king and art collector, the Barnes Foundation was billed as a private educational entity and displayed one of the greatest collections of Modern Art ever assembled. Totaling up to $20 Billion in today's dollars, the Barnes Collection consisted of 181 paintings by Pierre-Auguste Renoir, 69 by Paul Cézanne, 59 by Henri Matisse, 46 by Pablo Picasso, 21 by Chaim Soutine, 18 by Henri Rousseau, 16 by Amedeo Modigliani, 11 by Edgar Degas, 7 by Vincent van Gogh, and 6 by Georges Seurat amongst many other masterpieces. After Dr. Barnes' death in 1951, his will was read and the Foundation was surprisingly handed down to Lincoln University, a small and primarily African American college. Legal battles began almost immediately, with contestation on all sides over the years. Much attention in the book is given to Richard Glanton, an ambitious and politically-connected Philadelphia lawyer that seized control as President of the Barnes Foundation in the 1990's. Mr. Glanton's tenure had it's share of extreme highs and lows. He presided over the heralded and much-lauded world tour of the collection, then left the position  after a disastrous attempt to sue Foundation neighbors in a discrimination lawsuit filed under the Ku Klux Klan Act. With closed door deals and allegations of corruption, revenge and frivolous lawsuits, the toxic managerial atmosphere at the Barnes Foundation overshadowed the world-class Art collection it was meant to maintain. The book remains interesting through the majority of it's pages, with some lulls descending during the long passages regarding depositions in Glanton's many disputes and dealings with Niara Sudarkasa, former President of Lincoln University. Upon the book's conclusion, the legal battles were just beginning, with the Barnes Foundation in financial ruin… and an imminent move of venue several years down the line. Read this wonderful book, then watch the 2009 documentary, The Art of the Steal, for added and updated insights.

Dr. Albert C. Barnes: Art Held Hostage. John Anderson

The Joy of Life by Henri Matisse: Art Held Hostage. John Anderson

The Barnes Foundation: Art Held Hostage. John Anderson

The Barnes Foundation: Art Held Hostage. John Anderson

Matisse at The Barnes Foundation: Art Held Hostage. John Anderson

Dr. Albert C. Barnes: Art Held Hostage. John Anderson

The Barnes Foundation: Art Held Hostage. John Anderson

Richard Glanton: Art Held Hostage. John Anderson

Dr. Albert C. Barnes by Chirico: Art Held Hostage. John Anderson

Violette de Mazia: Art Held Hostage. John Anderson

Niara Sudarkasa: Art Held Hostage. John Anderson

Dr. Albert C. Barnes: Art Held Hostage. John Anderson

Cardplayers by Paul Cezanne: Art Held Hostage. John Anderson

The Barnes Foundation: Art Held Hostage. John Anderson

The Barnes Foundation: Art Held Hostage. John Anderson

Richard Glanton: Art Held Hostage. John Anderson

The Barnes Foundation: Art Held Hostage. John Anderson

Dr. Albert C. Barnes: Art Held Hostage. John Anderson

: Art Held Hostage. John Anderson

Research: Worcester Art Museum "Then and Now" by Travis Simpkins. Update #31

     -In the first photo, from about 1900, the original building of the Worcester Art Museum is shown just a few years after the cornerstone was set in 1897. Designed by Worcester architect Steven Earle, this facade greeted visitors up until the early 1930's when the Renaissance Court building was constructed directly in front of this edifice. Several years after that the glass roof was damaged in a 1938 hurricane, and was removed to facilitate the addition of the fourth floor. Today, only the northwest and southeast corners of the original building are visible (look for the large arch with a big photo of "Sally" on Lancaster Street, and by the loading dock area on Tuckerman Street), with the rest having been obscured by various additions in 1920, 1933, 1940, 1970 and 1983.
     -The second "Then and Now" composition compares an older incarnation of the Rose Gallery area on the fourth floor (as Special Exhibition space) with the way it appeared earlier this month (New renovations began on this gallery last week). The fountain will remain in the Rose Gallery, far from it's original location on the first floor, in what is now the Egyptian Gallery. If you look at the floor in the center of that room, under the pedestal with the "Head of Mentuhotep III", you'll see a patch of carpet (the same dimensions as the fountain) that covers the old plumbing.

     -The sketch depicts a profile view of the aforementioned Ancient Egyptian "Head of Mentuhotep III" (2010-1998 B.C.)

     -When the Worcester Art Museum was first built in 1897, a series of eight carved stone medallions chiseled with the names of famous artists ran along the roofline. Today, only three of these medallions are still visible (and only from higher up, viewed through a window).

1897 Building. Worcester Art Museum. by Travis Simpkins

4th Floor Galleries. Worcester Art Museum. by Travis Simpkins

Mentuhotep III. Worcester Art Museum. by Travis Simpkins

1897 Medallions. Worcester Art Museum