Take a Class
We're now offering a greater number of art classes. We also have need-based scholarships to help make art accessible for everyone.
The Barnes-de Mazia Certificate Program
This special track offers an immersion in the Barnes method and an introduction to other interpretive approaches.
Horticulture Certificate Program
Our three-year certificate program covers horticultural science, methods, and design.
Research Notes
New theories and recent discoveries from the Barnes Foundation's curators, scholars, conservators, and archivists.
Exhibition Tour: 30 Americans
Learn more about the artists and artworks in 30 Americans.
November Spotlight Tour: South of France—Renoir, Cézanne, Van Gogh, Matisse
Learn about the importance of the region to favorite artists in the Barnes collection this November.
Members-Only Tours: 30 Americans
A free members-only tour of the groundbreaking special exhibition.
Highlights Tour
This one-hour tour is perfect for first-time visitors. Explore highlights of the collection and learn the history of the Barnes.
Premier Tour
This 90-minute docent-led tour takes place while the Barnes is closed to the public.
Personalized Docent Tour
A private one-hour tour for you and up to five guests during regular hours.
Afternoons with
the Art Team
Join us for casual pop-up talks in the galleries led by our Art Team. Each talk focuses on a specific work of art—it’s a great way to explore the collection and learn something new!
Stroller Tour
Our Stroller Tours make visiting our galleries less stressful for families with babies.
Artist Conversation: Hank Willis Thomas and Deborah Willis
A conversation between two influential artists who are also mother and son, moderated by scholar Li Sumpter.
Artist Bash: Activated Peoples
Tonight, we feature artists who perform as they create, activating their histories, identities, and passions.
In Focus Gallery Talk: de Chirico’s Alexandros
Hear the story behind the painting from Amy Gillette, research associate at the Barnes. Free with admission; Room 18
The Ancient World: Treasures from Egypt, Greece, and Rome
This class takes an in-depth look at the major artistic and architectural moments of the ancient world.
Lecture: “Matisse and the Harlem Renaissance: Affinities and Interface”
Author and curator Denise Murrell traces the evolving representation of the black figure in modernist art.
Barnes Toddler Time
Join us for a combination of storytime, art making, and movement activities just for kids up to age 5 and their parents or caregivers.
PECO Free First Sunday Family Day: Winter Soulstice
Make festive arts and crafts and see soulful performances from the Philadelphia Jazz Project.
Museum Store Sunday
The Barnes Shop is celebrating Museum Store Sunday with special events and discounts.
December Spotlight Tour: Cézanne—The Man and His Art
This December, we’re looking closer at the life, work, and influence of the “father of modern art.”
Panel Discussion: Philadelphia Jazz Stories
Learn about the new comic book inspired by the history of Philly jazz with its authors and illustrators.
In Focus Gallery Talk: Gozzoli’s Madonna and Child with Angels
Hear the story behind the painting from Amy Gillette, research associate at the Barnes. Free with admission; Room 19
Lecture: “Sitting Pretty: Renoir’s Women and the Art of Self-Adornment”
This lively talk focuses on the intimate, modern scenes created by Renoir and his contemporaries.
First Friday! Elevate the Spirit
Tenor Allen Pinkney, Jr., lends his voice to a dazzling variety of music, exploring its power to heal and elevate the human spirit.
Member Morning
Members are invited to join Barnes staff for a chat about membership at the Foundation and benefits, followed by a docent tour of the collection.
Behind the Scenes: Special Exhibitions
Associate curator Cindy Kang provides an inside look at the special exhibition process at the Barnes.
In Focus Gallery Talk: Martyrdom of Saint Lawrence
Hear the story behind the painting from Amy Gillette, research associate at the Barnes. Free with admission; Room 2
In Focus Gallery Talk: John Bankston’s Man’s Country I
Hear the story behind the painting in 30 Americans from Tamir Williams, a doctoral candidate in the history of art at the University of Pennsylvania. Free with admission; Roberts Gallery
Artist Conversation: William Pope.L with Gwendolyn DuBois Shaw
Performance artist William Pope.L joins 30 Americans curator Gwendolyn DuBois Shaw in conversation.
The Elements of Art
Learn basic aesthetic principles and discover art’s communicative power by studying directly in the Barnes galleries.
Matisse: In Color and Light
Explore Matisse’s stunning use of color across major works from the collection.
The Traditions of Art
All artists engage with earlier formal vocabularies in one way or another—even the modernists we often think of as turning tradition on its head.
Building the City of Light: Impressionism in Haussmann’s Paris
Trace the evolution of one of the most famous urban planning projects in European history.
Cézanne’s Card Players in Focus
Join us for an intensive study of one of the greatest masterpieces in the Barnes collection. Learn why The Card Players is so important in the history of modern art and how it fits into Cézanne’s broader career.
Art Deco Fashions of the 1920s
Learn about how influential fashion designers blurred the traditional boundaries between commerce and fine art. Inspired by our Marie Cuttoli exhibition.
The Art and Architecture of Ancient Egypt
Explore major monuments of architecture, sculpture, and painting from ancient Egypt in the class taught by our new postdoctoral fellow.
Impressionist Techniques: Roots, History, and Practice
Learn about impressionist color theories and techniques through in-class demonstrations and visits to the Barnes galleries.
Black American Culture and Albert Barnes: Spirituals, Integration, and Social Justice
In this one-day workshop, explore the complex history of the civil rights movement and Dr. Barnes’s role in championing black culture and integration.
Indigenous and Native American Arts: Albert Barnes and the Spirit of Santa Fe
Look closely at the influence of Native American art on Dr. Barnes and on modern art as a whole.
Van Gogh
Delve into the life and work of one of the greatest—and most mythologized—painters of the modern era.
“Dear Barnes”: Letters Between Albert C. Barnes and His Artist Friends
Archivist and historian Barbara Anne Beaucar shares the history of the Barnes through authentic archival documents—including a few newly discovered letters.
Ab Ex to Pop: American Art of the 1950s and 1960s
Get a better sense of why artists like Jackson Pollock and Andy Warhol took the art world by storm in the decades after World War II.
Consumed by Color: Bonnard and Matisse:
A Friendship in Paint
Learn about the long and fascinating relationship between these two celebrated painters.
Visual Literacy in an Image-Soaked World: The Barnes Method and Beyond
We live in a world saturated with images. Use the principles of the Barnes method to think critically about the images that surround us—in museums, on social media, and beyond.
Holy Faces and Sacred Spaces
Explore the complicated relationship between spiritual belief and artistic production. What does religious art tell us about the people who made it?
On the Run: European Artists/Intellectuals Flee WWII
Examine key artists and intellectuals who fled Europe during the Second World War as well as the work of those who stayed behind.
Marie Cuttoli: The Modern Thread from Miró to Man Ray
In conjunction with our spring exhibition, survey the career of Marie Cuttoli, the pioneering entrepreneur who introduced leading modern artists to textiles and tapestry.
Poems and Paintings
Explore the analogies between the visual and the textual. Learn about the various strategies used by painters and writers to create imagery.
Decoding Barnes’s Ensembles
Get a better understanding of why Albert Barnes arranged his collection in such an unconventional way.
Threads of History: European Tapestry from Medieval to Modern
Trace the history of tapestry from its princely beginnings in the Middle Ages to its revival by modernist painters and patrons in the 20th century.
Albert C. Barnes and the Harlem Renaissance
Learn about Dr. Barnes’s dialogue with several key figures of the Harlem Renaissance and how this dialogue impacted his approach to education.
Old Masters at the Barnes Foundation
A close look at the old masters in the collection and an introduction to earlier painting traditions more broadly.
The Art of Tapestry Weaving
Learn more about the methods of tapestry design and construction and create your own in the tradition of your favorite era.
Afrofuturism: Introduction to the Multiverse
Artists and activists from across the African diaspora are imagining new myths and radical visions into reality. Learn about them in this one-day workshop.
Painting Time: Monet and the Pace of Modernity
Is it possible to paint time? Join us for an investigation into how Monet articulated a new cultural understanding of time in some of his key landscapes.
The Painted Garden
Explore the visual vocabulary shared by painters and garden designers.
3-D/4-D: Sculpture 1850 to the Present
Inspired by our summer exhibition on Elijah Pierce, this workshop details the various modes of modern and contemporary sculpture.
Matisse and His Palette of Objects
Curator Ellen McBreen brings to light the deeply personal objects that so often found their way into Matisse’s paintings. What is the relationship between 2-D and 3-D in Matisse’s work?
The Intensive Practice of Meditation and Close Looking
A daylong immersion in close looking and meditation. Enjoy the quiet experience of looking at artwork, with Dr. Barnes’s concepts in mind.
Decoding Barnes’s Ensembles
Learn to better understand why Albert Barnes arranged his collection in such an unconventional way in this one-day workshop.
Understanding Color in Painting
Explore the history of color in painting through demonstrations and close looking at works in the galleries.
Art History is a Gated Community: How to Open the Discipline to Elijah Pierce and His Peers
How can art historians, museums, collectors, and critics include artists like Pierce in a fuller and more expansive story of American art?
Modigliani, Pascin, and Soutine
In this three-day workshop, investigate the intersecting lives and contributions of these three key modern painters.