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.
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Gift the Barnes.
Give the gift of the Barnes and Calder Gardens 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 West
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.
Members-Only Tour: Noguchi to Asawa: Designing Postwar America
Members are invited to an exclusive tour of our newest exhibition.
Exhibition Tour: Noguchi to Asawa: Designing Postwar America
Explore iconic works by Japanese American artists and designers working in the aftermath of World War II and incarceration.
Private Tour: Noguchi to Asawa: Designing Postwar America
This docent-led tour of Noguchi to Asawa: Designing Postwar America is a private one-hour experience for you and up to nine guests.
November Spotlight Tour: Decoding the Barnes Ensembles
Learn about how and why Dr. Barnes arranged his collection in such a unique way in this illuminating collection tour.
In Focus: Pablo Picasso, the Early Work (1900–1907)
This self-paced class introduces Picasso’s art through a close study of this formative period, during which the artist established his identity on the world stage.
The Femme Fatale in Art, Film, and Pop Culture, 1890 to Now
Study the mysterious femme fatale, an archetype for exploring themes of gender, power, sexuality, and morality across art forms. Instructor: Martha Lucy
Young Professionals Night: Spark
After-hours art, style, and music await Philadelphia’s young leaders and Barnes Contemporaries members.
Members-Only Online Evening Tour: Decoding the Barnes Ensembles
Learn more about how Dr. Barnes designed his galleries and discover new connections across the collection.
Exhibition Seminar: Noguchi to Asawa: Designing Postwar America
Explore the contributions of Japanese American artists and designers through guided discussion in the exhibition galleries. Instructor: Joseph Tokumasu Field
Members-Only Gallery Talk: Plastic Utopia: Art, Industry, and Culture in the Atomic Age
Gallery specialist Chase Frost explores the history of plastic in art, focusing on works in Noguchi to Asawa.
The Foundations of Drawing in the Barnes Collection
Learn the fundamentals of drawing through gallery discussions, demonstrations, and hands-on practice. Instructor: Michael Kowbuz
Members-Only Online Tour: Noguchi to Asawa: Designing Postwar America
Members are invited to an exclusive virtual tour of our newest exhibition.
Barnes Curious? Let’s Talk about Renoir
Join us in the collection galleries for a short close-looking and discussion session on Renoir. Instructor: Naina Saligram
In Conversation: Brandon Shimoda and Rea Tajiri
Poet Brandon Shimoda and filmmaker Rea Tajiri reflect on Japanese American incarceration, memory, and creative practice.
December Spotlight Tour: Decoding the Barnes Ensembles
Learn about how and why Dr. Barnes arranged his collection in such a unique way in this illuminating collection tour.
First Friday: Sky Hopinka, Raven Chacon & Andrew Yong Hoon Lee
The trio of interdisciplinary artists performs an immersive evening of improvised guitar music.
In Conversation: vanessa german & The Colored Girls Museum
Join us for a talk with artist vanessa german and Vashti Dubois, founder of Philadelphia’s Colored Girls Museum.
PECO Free First Sunday Family Day: Universal Expression
Enjoy free art and activities, traditional Japanese music performances, and our second annual Student Art Show.
ARTZ @ The Museum
This program provides free access to the Barnes for people living with dementia and their care partners.
Inside the Barnes Ensembles: Room 14
Delve into the history of Room 14 through archival materials, close looking, and discussion of the Barnes ensembles. Instructors: Kaelin Jewell and Amanda McKnight
Deep Dive: Ogawa II by Kay Sekimachi
An in-depth discussion about Sekimachi’s intricate monofilament hanging. Free with admission; Roberts Gallery
Barnes Cinema: Camp and the Japanese American Artistic Psyche in Film
Short films explore the impact of WWII incarceration on Japanese American artists and filmmakers across generations.
Art, Ritual, and Death in the 19th Century
Study Victorian mourning culture through art, photography, fashion, and memorial objects. Instructor: Caterina Y. Pierre
Close-Looking Immersion: Cézanne’s Young Man and Skull
Take a deep dive into Cézanne’s painting using the Barnes Method. Instructor: William Perthes
Being Present with Art: Connecting to the Light Within
Reflect through mindfulness, close looking, and guided discussion in this winter-focused art and meditation workshop. Instructor: Roksana Filipowska
Members-Only Online Tour: Decoding the Barnes Ensembles
This online docent-led tour looks how and why Dr. Barnes created his signature gallery arrangements.
The Art of Color
Explore how artists use color to shape meaning, emotion, and structure in this self-paced class.
Delacroix: A Modern Maverick
Discover how Delacroix broke with convention through bold color, dramatic compositions, and expressive brushwork, influencing generations of modern artists. Instructor: Larissa Bailiff
Barnes Cinema: Strawberry Fields by Rea Tajiri
Explore the legacy of Japanese American incarceration on families in this coming-of-age film, followed by a discussion with director Rea Tajiri.
Barnes Curious? Let’s Talk about Manet
Join us in the Barnes galleries for an hour of close looking and conversation centered on Manet’s Laundry. Instructor: Alison Boyd
The Elements of Art
Discover the visual language of art through close looking and discussion centered on works from the Barnes collection. Instructor: William Perthes
Collection Concentration: Matisse, A Global Perspective
Explore the global artistic traditions that shaped Matisse’s approach to color, pattern, space, and form through works in the Barnes collection. Instructor: Kaelin Jewell
Florentine Design vs. Venetian Color: A Renaissance Rivalry
Explore one of Renaissance art’s great debates—drawing and design versus color—through works by da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael, Titian, and others. Instructor: Suzanne Willever
The Traditions of Art
Explore how artists engage with and transform artistic traditions. Instructor: William Perthes
Collection Concentration: Searching for Paradise: Arcadian Landscapes from Antiquity to the Modern World
Trace the idea of Arcadia from the ancient world to modernism through landscapes by Matisse, Cézanne, Seurat, and others. Instructor: Kaelin Jewell
Manet and the Making of Modernism
Explore how Manet challenged artistic conventions and helped redefine modern painting—and how later artists responded to his work. Instructor: Alison Boyd
Peter Paul Rubens: Power Player of the High Baroque
Discover the art of Peter Paul Rubens and explore why the influential Baroque painter became a favorite of Dr. Albert Barnes. Instructor: James Harper
Close-Looking Immersion: Gauguin’s Mr. Loulou
Spend an hour looking closely at Gauguin’s Mr. Loulou and discover what its color, pattern, and composition can reveal. Instructor: Kaelin Jewell
Courbet: Painter of Women
Look closely at two provocative paintings of women by Gustave Courbet and explore why his work continues to challenge viewers today. Instructor: Rika Burnham
Barnes Curious? Let’s Talk about Van Gogh
Join us in the Barnes galleries for an hour of close looking and conversation centered on Van Gogh’s The Postman. Instructor: Kaelin Jewell
Off the Wall: Graffiti in Philadelphia and Beyond
Explore the history of graffiti, with a special focus on Philadelphia, and consider the contested line between art, activism, and vandalism. Instructor: Annalise Ashman
Jewish Art and Culture in France, 1870–1940
Explore Jewish artists, musicians, writers, and cultural figures who helped shape French culture from the late 19th century through the interwar years. Instructor: Mimi Stillman
Being Present with Art: Cultivating Balance for Spring
Welcome spring with mindfulness, meditation, and close looking at works in the Barnes collection. Instructor: Roksana Filipowska
Small Pictures, Big Ideas
Take a closer look at small but remarkable works by Titian, El Greco, Chardin, Pippin, and others in the Barnes collection. Instructor: Rika Burnham
The Art of the Pre-Raphaelites
Discover the artists and ideas behind the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, from Millais and Rossetti to Simeon Solomon. Instructor: Katherine Feldkamp
Painted Space: The Window and the Wall
How do painters create 3D worlds on flat canvases? Explore pictorial space from ancient Egypt to modernism. Instructor: Liam Murphy-Torres
Close-Looking Immersion: Renoir’s Bathers in the Forest
Spend an hour looking closely at Renoir’s painting and discover how color, brushwork, and composition shape the work. Instructor: William Perthes
Exhibition Seminar: Rochelle Feinstein:
The Today Show
Join the artist and curator for a candid and in-depth look at the exhibition. Instructors: Rochelle Feinstein, Thom Collins
Orientalism
Discover how artists in Europe and the Islamic world represented culture, identity, and exchange in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Instructor: Emily Neumeier
Matisse and Picasso
Explore the famous creative rivalry between Matisse and Picasso through eight major paintings in the Barnes collection. Instructor: Martha Lucy
Barnes Curious? Let’s Talk about Picasso
Join us in the Barnes galleries for an hour of close looking and conversation centered on Picasso’s Acrobat and Young Harlequin. Instructor: Naina Saligram
The Art of Caricature: Daumier and His Contemporaries
Examine the history of caricature through Daumier and other artists who used humor to comment on art, society, and politics. Instructor: Caterina Pierre
Piece by Piece: The Art and History of Mosaics
Explore the art of mosaics across cultures and centuries, from ancient palaces and sacred spaces to surprising connections with modern painting. Instructor: Kaelin Jewell
Flowers in the Wilderness: Pennsylvania Dutch Art and Culture
Discover Pennsylvania German art and culture through the Barnes collection and explore how Dr. Albert Barnes’s heritage shaped what he collected. Instructor: Alexander Ames
Queer Abstraction: 1900–1960
Explore how queer artists from 1900 to 1960 used abstraction to express identity, desire, relationships, and experience in new ways. Instructor: Ty Vanover
Close-Looking Immersion: Baule Door for an Inner Room
Spend an hour looking closely at the Baule Door for an Inner Room, exploring its pattern, line, perspective, purpose, and meaning. Instructor: Naina Saligram
The Art of Light
Discover how light shapes meaning in this self-paced online course. Explore its role in composition, mood, and symbolism through guided close looking.
The Art of Display: Exploring the Barnes Ensembles
Uncover connections hidden in plain sight by studying Dr. Barnes’s enigmatic displays of art at your own pace.
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.
In Focus: Henri Rousseau
Study Rousseau’s enigmatic paintings using our state-of-the-art interactive platform. Zoom in on his strange imagery, and discover why Rousseau continues to captivate.
In Focus: Pierre-Auguste Renoir
An introduction to Renoir’s life and work, with interactive videos that let you explore his canvases up close. See why Renoir is more than just rosy cheeks and cute babies.
In Focus: The Ancient World
A fresh look at ancient art. Learn about works from ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome.
Saint Joseph’s University Museum Education Graduate Program
A collaboration with SJU, this new program prepares future museum educators for roles in public and private institutions.
Horticulture Certificate Program
Our two-year certificate program covers horticultural science, methods, and design.
Art, Well-Being, and Medicine
Our group workshops help medical students and healthcare professionals develop a more empathetic, humanistic approach to patient care.
Gift a Barnes Class
Give the gift of lifelong learning with art history classes taught by Barnes experts.
The Barnes–de Mazia Certificate Program
This special track offers an immersion in the Barnes Method and an introduction to other interpretive approaches.