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.
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.
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.
September Spotlight Tour: Firestorm! Outrage! Dr. Barnes’s Scandalous 1923 Philadelphia Exhibition
Revisit the critically panned show that pitted Dr. Barnes against Philadelphia’s elite, and see which works remain in the collection.
PECO Free First Sunday Family Day: Arte y Libertad
Free access to our galleries, plus art activities for the whole family and performances from traditional Mexican dance group Ñuuxakun.
Collection Concentration: Searching for Paradise: Arcadian Landscapes from Antiquity to the Modern World
Explore how artists reimagined Arcadia through landscape, color, and form in key works from the Barnes collection. Instructor: Kaelin Jewell
The Traditions of Art
Study the evolution of artistic traditions through close looking in the Barnes galleries. Instructor: William Perthes
Members-Only Online Tour: Firestorm! Outrage! Dr. Barnes’s Scandalous 1923 Philadelphia Exhibition
Philadelphia critics once panned Dr. Barnes’s collection. Discover the press feud and learn which works remain in the collection today.
Visions from the Nile: Art and Life in Ancient Egypt
Explore life along the Nile and how art shaped daily life, ritual, and belief in ancient Egypt. Instructor: Carl Walsh
Exhibiting Modernism: From the Salon to the Avant-Garde
Learn how exhibition culture shaped artists, audiences, and modern art. Instructor: Caterina Y. Pierre
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
The Traditions of Art
Learn how modern artists adapted earlier traditions and developed new visual languages. Instructor: Kaelin Jewell
Post-Impressionism and the Making of Modern Art
Explore how Cézanne, Van Gogh, Gauguin, and Seurat transformed modern painting through radical new approaches to color and form. Instructor: Larissa Bailiff
Barnes Cinema: Sitting Still
Our film series continues with Gina Angelone’s 2024 documentary about landscape architect Laurie Olin.
Being Present with Art: Welcoming Change
Slow down through mindfulness, close looking, and reflection in this art-centered workshop exploring seasonal change. Instructor: Roksana Filipowska
Member Previews: Noguchi to Asawa: Designing Postwar America
Members are invited to view our newest exhibition before it opens to the public on Sunday, September 20.
Close-Looking Immersion: Cézanne’s Mont Sainte-Victoire
Discover hidden details in this hour devoted to observing and discussing Cézanne’s Mont Sainte-Victoire. Instructor: Kaelin Jewell
Barnes Create & Connect
Join us for an art-making experience designed for individuals living with Parkinson’s disease and their care partners.
Curators in Conversation: Noguchi to Asawa: Designing Postwar America
Join us for an engaging conversation about our newest exhibition on its opening day.
Sound and Color: The Sensory World of Monet and Debussy
Experience Monet and musical impressionism through live performance, close looking, and conversation in the Barnes galleries. Instructor: Mimi Stillman
Member Introduction: Sky Hopinka: Red Metal Dust
Learn more about Red Metal Dust, a site-specific installation that explores and interrogates the American experience and its histories.
Members-Only Tour: Noguchi to Asawa: Designing Postwar America
Members are invited to an exclusive tour of our newest exhibition.
Online Member Orientation
New members are invited to join Barnes staff online for a chat about membership and benefits, followed by a docent-led virtual tour of the collection.
Members-Only Online Tour: Noguchi to Asawa: Designing Postwar America
Members are invited to an exclusive virtual 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.
October Spotlight Tour: Firestorm! Outrage! Dr. Barnes’s Scandalous 1923 Philadelphia Exhibition
Revisit the critically panned show that pitted Dr. Barnes against Philadelphia’s elite, and see which works remain in the collection.
First Friday: V. Shayne Frederick
Vocalist and pianist V. Shayne Frederick leads a tribute to Philadelphia jazz legend John Coltrane.
PECO Free First Sunday Family Day: Thriving Traditions
Join us for free art and fun family activities, including performances by Native Nations Dance Theater.
James McNeill Whistler: An American Painter Abroad
Explore Whistler’s international artistic networks and his role in shaping modern art across France, England, and America. Instructor: Suzanne Singletary
Mary Cassatt: Art, Identity, and Independence
Discover how Cassatt reshaped modern art through intimate scenes, innovative printmaking, and radical depictions of women. Instructor: Larissa Bailiff
On Practice: Pew Fellows in Conversation
This new speaker series features 2025 Pew Fellows in the Arts in candid conversations about what it takes to be an artist.
Thomas Eakins: American Realist
Examine Eakins’s powerful realism through portraits, photography, and scenes of modern American life. Instructor: Lea Stephenson
Supporter Reception
Supporter- and Sustainer-level members enjoy exclusive after-hours access to Noguchi to Asawa: Designing Postwar America.
Deep Dive: Radio Nurse by Isamu Noguchi
An in-depth discussion about the designer’s 1937 baby monitor. Free with admission; Roberts Gallery
Aaron Douglas from Harlem to Philly
Explore Douglas’s connection to the Barnes Foundation and his role in shaping the visual language of the Harlem Renaissance. Instructor: Alison Boyd
Barnes Create & Connect
Join us for an art-making experience designed for individuals living with Parkinson’s disease and their care partners.
ARTZ @ The Museum
This program provides free access to the Barnes for people living with dementia and their care partners.
Color and the Painter’s Practice
Learn how artists use color through gallery discussions, practical exercises, and hands-on experimentation. 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.
2026 Barnes Art Ball
Join us for our yearly celebration of art, community, and philanthropy.
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
Close-Looking Immersion: Glackens’s Beach at Dieppe
Spend an hour closely observing Glackens’s Beach at Dieppe through guided discussion and immersive digital viewing. Instructor: William Perthes
Lecture: Eiffel Tower Confidential
Learn the Eiffel Tower’s hidden history, including its connections to the French Empire and surveillance, with art historian Hollis Clayson.
Online Member Orientation
New members are invited to join Barnes staff online for a chat about membership and benefits, followed by a docent-led virtual tour of the collection.
Members-Only Evening Tour: Noguchi to Asawa: Designing Postwar America
Explore works by two generations of artists affected by forced relocation and incarceration during World War II in this exclusive after-hours tour.
Members-Only Online Tour: Firestorm! Outrage! Dr. Barnes’s Scandalous 1923 Philadelphia Exhibition
Philadelphia critics once panned Dr. Barnes’s collection. Discover the press feud and learn which works remain in the collection today.
Barnes Create & Connect
Join us for an art-making experience designed for individuals living with Parkinson’s disease and their care partners.
PECO Free First Sunday Family Day: Generational Exchange
Enjoy hands-on art activities, free access to the collection, and special performances of Cambodian classical and folk dances.
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.
What Is Art? Marcel Duchamp
Learn how Duchamp challenged conventional ideas of art and transformed modern artistic practice. Instructor: Matthew Palczynski
New Member Reception
Explore Noguchi to Asawa: Designing Postwar America and the collection at this special evening reception for new members.
The Ballets Russes: Art, Music, and Modern Performance
Explore the revolutionary collaborations of the Ballets Russes through music, dance, painting, and design. Instructor: Mimi Stillman
Graphic Design: An Unruly History
Trace the history of graphic design across eras and cultures in this creative and comprehensive survey. Instructor: Dan Shepelavy
Baroque Masters of Southern Europe: Caravaggio to Velázquez
Explore Baroque painting through the work of Caravaggio, Gentileschi, Poussin, and Velázquez. Instructor: Wayne Franits
Members-Only Online Tour: Noguchi to Asawa: Designing Postwar America
Members are invited to an exclusive virtual tour of our newest exhibition.
First Friday: Miki Yamanaka Trio & PAAFF
Tonight’s performance features jazz pianist Miki Yamanaka.
Lecture: Duchamp’s Fountain: A Second Opinion
Explore the controversial work and its impact on American modernism in 1920 letters between William Carlos Williams and Albert Barnes.
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
On Practice: Pew Fellows in Conversation
Join us for an intimate look at how the artists shaping Philadelphia’s cultural scene experiment, discover, and create.
Member Orientation
New members are invited to join us to learn more about the perks of membership at the Barnes.
Close-Looking Immersion: Matisse’s Still Life with Gourds
Spend an hour closely observing Matisse’s Still Life with Gourds through guided discussion and immersive digital viewing. Instructor: Kaelin Jewell
Deep Dive: “Thomas Paine on the value of freedom” Ad by S. Neil Fujita
An in-depth discussion about Fujita’s design for the “Great Ideas of Western Man” advertising campaign. Free with admission; Roberts Gallery
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
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
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.
PECO Free First Sunday Family Day: Universal Expression
Enjoy free art and activities, traditional Japanese music performances, and our second annual Student Art Show.
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
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 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 Color
Explore how artists use color to shape meaning, emotion, and structure in this self-paced class.
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.
The Barnes–de Mazia Certificate Program
This special track offers an immersion in the Barnes Method and an introduction to other interpretive approaches.
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.