The Barnes Foundation's world-renowned art collection is slated for a move that will bring the works closer to other prominent cultural institutions - and nearer to Penn students as well.
Last week, the Barnes acquired a site on Benjamin Franklin Parkway near the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Rodin Museum.
The Barnes, currently located in Lower Marion, is known for its collection of impressionist paintings, including 181 Renoirs, 69 Cezannes, 59 Matisses and 46 Picassos.
Andrew Stewart, a Barnes spokesman, said the group of nearby cultural attractions would increase the museum's visibility and draw visitors.
"I think we can really start to become part of the community," he said.
Stewart added that the new building would include classroom space to make the Barnes more conducive to education.
A large portion of Penn students are unaware of the historic collection located in their own backyard, and History of Art Department chairman David Brownlee said the move will make it "much easier" for students and faculty to access the Barnes' paintings and documents.
But some Art History students expressed mixed views on the move.
Third-year graduate student Masha Kowell said that it's "wonderful" that "so many more people will have access to the collection," but that she will withhold final judgment until the building's design is complete.
"There's a chance the configuration will lose its authenticity" in the move, she said.
The building will be designed by New York-based architects Tod Williams and Billie Tsien, who also designed Penn's Skirkanich Hall.
There is currently no timeline for the project's completion, Stewart said.
The planned move, which has been in the works for several years, has not been without controversy.
Albert Barnes, a pharmaceutical businessman who died in 1951, stipulated in his will that the collection never be moved from Lower Merion.
In 2004, Montgomery County Orphans Court Judge Stanley Ott ruled that Barnes' will could be broken to save the foundation from financial bankruptcy.
Also, the Barnes' new location displaces the Youth Study Center now located at that site. The youth-detention building will be temporarily moved to the Eastern Pennsylvania Psychiatric Institute in East Falls, but a permanent site has not been determined.
City councilwoman Jannie Blackwell, whose district includes University City, has opposed a plan that would relocate the Youth Study Center to 46th and Market streets.
Despite the controversies, Center City District spokeswoman Elise Vider said that the addition of the Barnes would be "very beneficial in terms of animating the Parkway."
With Barnes, she added, Philadelphia will now be "a world-class city for arts and culture."
