 By Erin Carroll, Inquirer Suburban Staff The Philadelphia Inquirer, September 24, 1999 MERION -- Having complied with the stipulations of a Zoning Hearing Board ruling last year, the Barnes Foundation is more than doubling the number of visitors permitted into its world-renowned gallery each week. Effective immediately, the Barnes will be open to a weekly total of 1,200 visitors -- 400 per day on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. Township regulations previously had limited that number to 500 visitors in 2 
days a week.
"We are delighted to have the opportunity to better serve our community by providing better access to a larger audience," Kimberly Camp, executive director and chief executive officer, said in a statement. More visitors, at $5 a head, is good news for the Barnes, which acknowledged in the summer that the foundation had operated on a deficit since at least 1992, had spent most of its endowment, and had less than $2 million left. Assuming the usual sell-out crowds to see the gallery's more than 2,000 works by such artists as Matisse, Cezanne, Picasso and Renoir, income from admission fees now could leap from $130,000 to $312,000 annually. Parking in a new 56-space parking lot, at $10 per space, could mean thousands more. The foundation's endowment has shriveled from $10 million a decade ago, a period in which the Barnes' gallery was transformed from a little-known collection to a world-famous tourist attraction under the leadership of its former president, Philadelphia lawyer Richard H. Glanton. During those years, the Barnes battled in court and with Lower Merion officials and residents to get permission for a world tour of its artworks, increased numbers of visitors to the gallery, and a parking lot. It also sued the township, alleging civil-rights violations, and was sued in turn by the commissioners for defamation. The suits, and settling them, cost millions. Raising money has proved difficult for the foundation, an art-education institution whose operations were restricted by the will of founder Albert C. Barnes. Court decisions have prevented the foundation from raising ticket prices or using the remaining $4 million profit from the world tour for anything but renovations. Implementation of the Zoning Hearing Board's decision in November 1998 to allow more visitors had been delayed while the foundation complied with caveats, including the parking lot and a reservation system that requires visitors to purchase tickets in advance over the phone. Now, both are operational. "We have admission times with a certain number of people coming in every half-hour, so that alleviates the lines," spokeswoman Victoria Lief said yesterday. The foundation also must remain closed on weekends in July and August but will be open instead Wednesday through Friday. No tour buses are allowed on its street, Latches Lane. The zoning board's ruling struck a compromise between neighbors' concerns about traffic and the foundation's request for 1,500 visitors per week. Now that visitor caps have been raised, it is likely neighbors will be monitoring activity at the Barnes, said Jim Greenfield, a lawyer who represented the residents. "I'm sure the neighbors will be watching to make sure that it is handled properly and that attendance limits are observed," Greenfield said yesterday. © 2000 Philadelphia Newspapers Inc.
300 North Latch's Lane
Merion, PA 19066-1729
610.667.0290
info@barnesfoundation.org
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