Take a Class
Study art history at the Barnes, a leader in art education since 1925. Come learn in our galleries, or take classes online using our immersive, state-of-the-art platform that brings you closer to the work than ever before.
Research Notes:
August 2024
New theories and recent discoveries from the Barnes’s curators, scholars, conservators, and archivists.
Gift Artfully: Barnes tickets, tours, classes, and more!
Give the gift of the Barnes to family, friends, and colleagues.
Online Art History Classes: Enroll Today
The Barnes has been an innovator in art education for 100 years. For a limited time, sign up to receive 10% off your first class.
Barnes North
Highlights Tour
This one-hour tour is perfect for first-time visitors. Explore highlights of the collection and learn the history of the Barnes.
Private Collection Tour
Explore highlights of the collection and learn the history of the Barnes. This tour is a private one-hour experience for you and up to nine guests.
Private Collection Tour: Favorite Artists
Choose your favorite artists in the collection for a private one-hour experience for up to ten guests.
Daily Gallery Talks
Every day, our gallery specialists offer talks about the Barnes collection. Learn more about our history, founder, and collection.
Research Notes:
November 2024
New theories and recent discoveries from the Barnes’s curators, scholars, conservators, and archivists.
The Art of Looking: An Introduction to the Barnes Method
This interactive online course will teach you the basics of the Barnes Method of studying art, at your own pace.
The Art of Display: Exploring the Barnes Ensembles
New Offering: Uncover connections hidden in plain sight by studying Dr. Barnes’s enigmatic displays of art at your own pace.
Exhibition Tour: Cecily Brown: Themes and Variations
Explore the artist’s lush, dynamic paintings, engagement with art history, and feminist point of view.
Private Tour: Cecily Brown: Themes and Variations
This one-hour private tour provides an up-close look at Themes and Variations and some of Brown’s most important works.
Members-Only Tour: Cecily Brown: Themes and Variations
This exclusive exhibition tour provides a closer look Brown’s lush and dynamic artworks
The Garden in Impressionism and Post-Impressionism
Learn about the rise of public and private gardens in 19th-century Paris and how these new spaces are depicted in impressionist paintings. Instructors: Andrew Bunting, Martha Lucy
Rendez-vous au Café: Café Culture in 19th-Century Art
Cafés hold a special place in the history of modern art. Learn how and why they inspired some of the most famous paintings of the time. Instructor: Caterina Y. Pierre
Member Appreciation Days
This May, members get even more—join us for exclusive talks and extra discounts.
May Spotlight Tour: Friends and Rivals: Picasso and Matisse
Learn about the complex relationship between these influential modern artists.
Member Appreciation Talk: Blake Gopnik on The Maverick’s Museum
Author and art critic Blake Gopnik discusses his new book, The Maverick’s Museum: Albert Barnes and His American Dream.
First Friday: Usiloquy Dance Designs & Rini Raghavan
This exciting collaboration pairs Indian classical dance and music with contemporary forms.
PECO Free First Sunday Family Day: Freedom Rain Speaks
Enjoy special performances, family-friendly art activities, and free access to the collection and Cecily Brown: Themes and Variations.
Online Talk: Annual Violette de Mazia Lecture with Larry Silver
Art historian Larry Silver discusses how and why artists throughout history compose their images from left to right.
The Art of Color: Exploring Palettes from the Renaissance to the Fauves
Journey through the vibrant world of artists’ palettes and learn how evolving materials and color theories shaped European painting over the past 400 years. Instructor: Al Gury
Bars, Brawls, and Backstreets: Art of the Ashcan School
Examine this uniquely American period of modern art that focused on the shifting urban landscape of the early 20th century. Instructor: William Perthes
Mother’s Day Weekend at the Barnes
Give Mom the gift of inspiration this May—brunch, art, tours, and more.
Member Appreciation Talk: The Barnes-Hollywood Connection
Assistant archivist Rob Jagiela explores Dr. Barnes’s relationships with actors, directors, and other figures of Hollywood’s Golden Age.
Workshop: Art, Well-Being, and Medicine
Learn how engaging with works of art can strengthen your skills as a healthcare provider. Instructor: William Perthes
In Focus Gallery Talk: Demuth’s Piano Mover’s Holiday
An in-depth discussion about Charles Demuth’s painting with Penn PhD candidate Emma Nell Jacobs. Free with admission; Room 18
ARTZ @ The Museum
This program provides free access to the Barnes for people living with dementia and their care partners.
Members-Only Online Tour: Friends and Rivals: Picasso and Matisse
Learn about the complex relationship between these influential modern artists.
Close-Looking Immersion: Matisse’s Blue Still Life
Our 90-minute immersions provide opportunities to study and discuss individual works. Instructor: Kaelin Jewell
Member Appreciation Talk: Jason Rosenfeld on Cecily Brown’s Black Paintings
Professor Jason Rosenfeld traces how Brown’s use of black backgrounds relates to the broader history of contemporary art.
Members-Only Online Tour: Cecily Brown: Themes and Variations
This exclusive online tour offers members up-close views of the exhibition.
PECO Free First Sunday Family Day: Bomba y Plena
Join us for performances by Los Bomberos de la Calle, family-friendly art activities, and free access to the collection.
June Spotlight Tour: Bathing Beauties: Matisse, Cézanne, Renoir, Picasso
This collection tour focuses on how bathing figures have been depicted throughout art history.
Hidden in Plain Sight: The Aesthetics of Everyday Life
This course uses the decorative arts collection at the Barnes as a jumping-off point to explore the artistic qualities of common objects. Instructors: Katherine Feldkamp, William Perthes
Heaven on Earth: The Art of the Byzantine Empire
Dive into the visual culture of the Byzantine Empire, which was influenced by nearly a millennium of religious, social, and political upheaval. Instructor: Kaelin Jewell
Art and the First “Homosexuals”
This course surveys artistic representations of homosexual identity, from the early 1900s through the first decades of the 20th century. Instructor: Jonathan D. Katz
Matisse, Morocco, and The Seated Riffian
Learn about Matisse’s fruitful winters in Morocco while studying this stunning portrait. Instructors: Jeff Koehler, Martha Lucy
Lecture & Book Signing: Matisse in Morocco with Jeff Koehler
Author Jeff Koehler discusses his new book Matisse in Morocco: A Journey of Light and Color.
Close-Looking Immersion: Van Goyen’s The Square Watch-Tower
Our 90-minute immersions provide opportunities to study and discuss individual works. Instructor: William Perthes
Members-Only Online Tour: The Barnes Collection
This exclusive online tour offers members up-close views of favorite artworks.
Looking and Listening: Impressionist Pioneers in Art and Music
This series explores the relationship between visual art and sound. Instructor: Mimi Stillman
Members-Only Online Tour: Bathing Beauties: Matisse, Cézanne, Renoir, Picasso
This exclusive virtual tour provides a close look at how bathing figures have been used throughout art history.
Online Member Orientation
New members are invited to join us online to learn more about the perks of membership at the Barnes.
Curators in Conversation: From Paris to Provence
Join us for an engaging talk with exhibition curator Cindy Kang on the opening day of From Paris to Provence: French Painting at the Barnes.
Art, Well-Being, and Medicine
Our group workshops help medical students and healthcare professionals develop a more empathetic, humanistic approach to patient care.
The Barnes–de Mazia Certificate Program
This special track offers an immersion in the Barnes Method and an introduction to other interpretive approaches.
Gift a Barnes Class
Give the gift of lifelong learning with art history classes taught by Barnes experts.
Saint Joseph’s University Museum Education Graduate Program
A collaboration between the Barnes and SJU, this new online program prepares museum educators to work in public and private institutions, including art, history, and science museums.
Horticulture Certificate Program
Our two-year certificate program covers horticultural science, methods, and design.