The movie which I will be reviewing is The Art of the Steal. This movie was directed by Don Argott in 2009. The movie based on the events of Dr. Albert C. Barnes’ life and more importantly his foundation, the Barnes Foundation, in which was considered to be one of the world’s best collections of Post-Impressionist art. However, the big deal around this foundation was the big heist which had happened involving his pieces of artwork. Back in 2009, it was determined that all the paintings in which were in Barnes’ foundation, hundreds to thousands of works of art, had a combined value to be worth anywhere between 25 and 30 billion dollars.
Barnes became a doctor and medical researcher by working hard and remaining persistent. He went on to become a millionaire by becoming the founder of a new pharmaceutical firm, as well as importantly finding a treatment for a rare disease back in his time. It wasn’t too long after that where he became extremely interested in art and as time passed, he put together one of the world’s most impressive collections of original paintings. His collection was filled with hundreds of paintings from Impressionists, Post-Impressionists and modernist masters. Rather than grouping these paintings by artist or era as in most art galleries, he displayed these works in his own personal preference as a way to express his own artistic vision. He also had other types of art such as sculptures, ancient artifacts, and highly crafted objects which range from different time periods. The paintings, however, were from some of the most prestigious artists ranging from Cezanne and Renoir to Picasso and Van Gogh.
When Barnes bought the paintings, he often relied on his own instincts rather than the advice from art experts. He didn’t much concern himself with the opinions of Philadelphia’s art collectors. As time went on, Barnes decided to start his foundation in 1922 due to the bitter terms that he was on with the rest of the city’s art community. This foundation was named after himself, the Barnes Foundation, and was where he kept his collection of paintings in private, rather than sharing it with some of the art institutions, one being the Philadelphia Art Museum. Because of Barnes’ unique individualism, he created many supporters, yet also many adversaries.
The Foundation was opened as an education institution and only allowed people to view the collection through strictly invitation only. Barnes preferred his collection of art work to be seen only by students and those who had a passionate love for art. There were early educational programs at Barnes’ Foundation in which were taught in partnership alongside Columbia University & the University of Pennsylvania. The classes in the Foundation included activities such as experiencing original art works, participating in class discussions, examining the artist’ use of line, color, light, and spacing, as well as reading philosophy and learning about the traditions of art. Barnes believed that through these teachings, students would be able to develop their own critical thinking skills along with broadening their imagination for art. Barnes didn’t want people whom he felt did not appreciate his paintings to be able to view his collection, which was the reason he created the Foundation in the first place.
Albert C. Barnes died in 1951 and made it firm in his will that he wanted his collection of art to stay in the Barnes Foundation. He made a statement to never allow his collection of art work to be lent to other museums, nor especially be sold to anyone else. He made one exception for Lincoln University, one of the first African-American universities in the United States, and gave trustees partial control over his collection. After years of legal challenges, changes were made which allowed visitors regular access to the Foundation. Public access was upgraded to 2 and a half days per week, as well as a maximum of 500 tourists per week!
Overall, I feel as if the movie over-exaggerated for the most part, but that’s what I expect in a movie. The story behind it though was neat to me as I found it interesting how they happened to actually pull the heist off. All in all, I’d say the movie was a good one as it maintained to hold my attention pretty well, on top of giving me a little insight about how the heist just may have gone down!
