I think it is too bad that they have to move. Barnes envisioned the whole environment: house, grounds and even the exact placement of the artworks in the house. It is an INCREDIBLE collection and very uniquely situated (which was a great deal of its charm).
Why couldn't they use the $100-150 million raised for the new building to save the "bankrupt" foundation? Or why couldn't they allow more than 400 tourists in per day? Those seem like more conservative ways to save the foundation. Perhaps the curators just wanted to be more "in the swing" of the art world in Philadelphia. Merion PA is a bit out of the way. (That's the charm, duh...Not to mention the battle Barnes had all his life with Philadelphia society and the entrenched art world of his time.)
When are they moving?
BTW, here's another interesting post about parts of a collection being sold. Thomas Malloy, a Bishop of Brooklyn who died in the 1950's, had a private collection that included a truly stunning Murillo and other odds and ends. He left it to the Diocese of Brooklyn, although I don't know where they kept it, if it was accessible to view, etc. It is being sold by the Diocese at the Christie's Old Masters sale in May to raise money for education.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1395779/posts
The judge should have ruled that these directors were incompetent, and appointed me to run things so it could have been kept in place, in accordance with Barnes' wishes.
I totally agree with you.
When is the collection slated to move? I plan on getting over to Lower Merion to check it out while it is still there.
Wills dont seem to mean much these days....when the presumed greater good of the public is involved.