An energetically entertaining if a bit one-sided documentary that shows how the Philadelphia establishment committed an act of cultural vandalism by engineering a move of the Barnes collection from its iconic home in suburban Merion, Penn., to a proposed new museum in the heart of downtown Philadelphia. It's a move that illustrates as few other things how art and culture have become commodified into big money industries. Read Turan's full review of "The Art of the Steal" at the LA TimesThe Art of the Steal
Don Argott’s documentary investigation into the long tug-of-war over the multi-billion dollar Barnes collection of paintings suggests that what may be the biggest art heist of the century is happening right now, with public money and in plain sight. Industrialist and visionary art collector Albert C. Barnes created an educational institution—which he located in Merion, PA—based on his unparalleled collection of masterworks by the likes of Van Gogh, Picasso, Cezanne, and Matisse. When he died, the Barnes Foundation carried on as his will stipulated for fifty years—until a powerful group of moneyed interests plotted to relocate the art to a new museum in Philadelphia. With the Governor, the Mayor, and several of the country’s most powerful charitable organizations on the verge of moving the Barnes, a loyal group of former students has gone to court to stop them.
Opened February 26, 2010 | Runtime:1 hr. 41 min.
Director: Don Argott
Genres: Visual Arts
Opened February 26, 2010
Runtime:1 hr. 41 min.
Movie times and tickets from Fandango for "The Art of the Steal"
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