Take a Class
Why take an online class at the Barnes?
- Our online classes are conducted live, which means you can engage with your instructor and with fellow students.
- We use state-of-the-art technology that allows you to zoom in closely and see details that can’t be experienced in person—down to the individual brushstroke.
- Topics change continually and are taught by experts from all over the world.
- Can’t attend a live session? Online classes are recorded for access later. Learn more about Barnes classes.
Research Notes:
March 2022
New theories and recent discoveries from the Barnes Foundation's curators, scholars, conservators, and archivists.
Research Notes:
June 2023
New theories and recent discoveries from the Barnes’s curators, scholars, conservators, and archivists.
Research Notes:
October 2023
New theories and recent discoveries from the Barnes’s curators, scholars, conservators, and archivists.
Research Notes:
August 2023
New theories and recent discoveries from the Barnes’s curators, scholars, conservators, and archivists.
Art Education Classes
Study art history and art appreciation at the Barnes with a full array of online and on-site classes.
Give the Gift of the Barnes: Tickets, 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.
Discover the Barnes Print Shop
Shop for artwork reproductions to bring favorite paintings from the Barnes collection home.
Picasso in the Barnes
Special talks and events spotlighting Pablo Picasso, marking the 50th anniversary of his death.
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 seven guests.
Gift a Barnes Class
Give the gift of lifelong learning with art history classes taught by Barnes experts.
Exhibition Tour: Marie Laurencin: Sapphic Paris
Dive deeper into the life and work of the French artist with a docent-led tour.
Private Exhibition Tour: Marie Laurencin: Sapphic Paris
Explore the life and work of the French modern artist in a private docent-led tour.
Members-Only Tour: Marie Laurencin
Members are invited to exclusive tours of Marie Laurencin: Sapphic Paris in the Roberts Gallery.
November Spotlight Tour: Remembering Picasso
Tour our collection of works by Pablo Picasso and consider his influence on the art of the 20th century and beyond.
The Art and Life of Toulouse-Lautrec
Explore the gritty underworld of 19th-century Paris through the work of Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. Instructor: Martha Lucy
Members-Only Online Tour: Marie Laurencin
Members are invited to an exclusive online tour of Marie Laurencin: Sapphic Paris.
Member Appreciation Days
This December, members get even more—join us for exclusive talks, plus extra discounts.
Member Appreciation Talk: “Modern Women Artists at MoMA: A Work in Progress”
Senior curator Anne Umland details her institution’s efforts to highlight modern women artists.
December Spotlight Tour: Remembering Picasso
Tour our collection of works by Pablo Picasso and consider his influence on the art of the 20th century and beyond.
First Friday! Laurin Talese
This December, the Philly jazz and soul singer brings her unique sound to the Barnes.
PECO Free First Sunday Family Day: New Traditions
Today's event features musical performances by Los Bomberos de la Calle.
Leslie Bowen’s Favorites: Then and Now
Join Leslie Bowen, a longtime Barnes instructor, for a personal look at the Barnes collection.
Member Appreciation Talk: “The Cult of Picasso in America, 1921–51”
Barnes research fellow Naina Saligram explores Picasso's reception in the US and Dr. Barnes's reaction to it.
Members-Only Online Tour: Remembering Picasso
Members are invited to an exclusive online collection tour focused on works by Pablo Picasso.
Matisse and Color
This course examines how Matisse created a new way of using color known as fauvism. Instructor: Michael Williamson
Member Appreciation Talk: “Art and Medicine at the Barnes”
Bill Perthes talks about the unique and fascinating relationship between medicine and the Barnes.
Dance Series: Horse Woman: Making a World of One’s Own
Open rehearsal for Headlong Dance Theater’s new performance. Free with admission.
Timeless/Timely: Marking Change in Impressionism and Its Afterlives
See how artists in the late 19th century were able to mark—and make—change in their work. Instructor: Miriam Ashkin Stanton
Members-Only Gallery Talk: Matisse’s Le bonheur de vivre
Each month, members of our Adult Education team present exclusive talks to members. Today, Michael Williamson discusses Matisse on the balcony.
Members-Only Online Tour: Marie Laurencin
Members are invited to an exclusive online tour of Marie Laurencin: Sapphic Paris.
Photography and Painting
Explore how painting was irrevocably changed by the invention of photography. Instructor: Michael Williamson
El Greco: Renaissance Mystic and Modernity’s Vanguardist
Learn how the Renaissance painter was inspired by mysticism and how his work found favor with impressionists and modern artists. Instructor: Sheila Barker
Learning to See
Learn how artists use visual media to communicate their unique experience of the world. Instructor: Kaelin Jewell
Charles Demuth: The Erotic Watercolors
Examine works by Demuth that explore his identity as an openly gay artist. Instructor: Ty Vanover
Mysticism, Spirituality, and Modern Art
Learn how spiritual ideas and mystical experiences influenced painters in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Instructor: Roksana Filipowska
Dance Series: Horse Woman: Making a World of One’s Own
See Headlong Dance Theater’s new performance inspired by the work of Marie Laurencin.
The Elements of Art
Learn basic aesthetic principles and discover art’s communicative power by studying works in the Barnes collection. Instructor: Michael Williamson
Collection Concentration: Paul Cézanne
Study Cézanne’s influence on European modernism and trace the development of his visual language. Instructor: William Perthes
The Traditions of Art
Learn how modern artists adapted earlier traditions in developing new visual languages. Instructor: Kaelin Jewell
The Art and Architecture of the Islamic World
An introduction to Islamic art and architecture, focusing on key objects and their social and political contexts. Instructor: Emily Neumeier
Horace Pippin’s Modernism
Reexamine Pippin’s art and legacy in the context of the galleries in which he once studied. Instructor: Alison Boyd
The Techniques of Color in Modern Painting
Explore the materials and approaches that made impressionism, post-impressionism, fauvism, and early modernism such groundbreaking movements. Instructor: Al Gury
Decoding Barnes’s Ensembles
Get a better understanding of why Dr. Albert Barnes arranged his collection in such an unconventional way. Instructor: Kaelin Jewell
Post-Impressionism in the Barnes
Learn about the radical generation of artists that emerged from the dissolution of the impressionist group. Instructor: Christa DiMarco
The Impressionists: Friends and Family
This course is a deep dive into the history and activities of the impressionist group and the deep bonds of its members. Instructor: Caterina Y. Pierre
The Bauhaus: Unity of the Arts
Delve into the Bauhaus school and movement and explore how we are still unpacking its remarkable legacy. Instructor: Matthew Palczynski
Flower Power: Symbolism and Science in the Barnes Collection
In celebration of spring, take a closer look at floral works in the collection, considering the aesthetics and symbolism of nature in art. Instructor: Amy Gillette
Art and Splendor in Ancient Rome
Explore the major achievements of the Roman world by looking closely at key examples of architecture, painting, and sculpture. Instructor: Kaelin Jewell
Art of the Great Migration
Examine important works by African American artists who migrated from south to north after the Reconstruction era. Instructor: Michael Williamson
The French Revolution and the Arts
Study the cultural, social, and visual changes that occurred during and after the French Revolution. Instructor: André Dombrowski
Close-Looking Immersion: Cézanne’s Ginger Jar
This new series of single-session immersions provides opportunities to study and discuss individual works. In this session, we’ll examine Cézanne’s Ginger Jar.
Paintings from an Artist’s Perspective
This class explores visual imagination from an artist’s point of view, revealing how a painter transforms ideas into physical works of art. Instructor: Stuart Shils
Dutch Art in the Time of Rembrandt and Vermeer: A Look at the “Non-Golden Age”
Examine the masters of the Dutch Golden Age while also considering the social and political issues of the time. Instructor: Ashley West
The Classical Tradition in Modern Art
Learn how some modern artists looked to classical myths, artifacts, and ideas for inspiration. Instructor: Naina Saligram
Artists As Cultivators
This course, taught by the curators of the PAFA exhibition, examines how artists use nature to explore issues of American identity. Instructors: Anna O. Marley, Leah Triplett Harrington
Close-Looking Immersion: Picasso’s Acrobat and Young Harlequin
This new series of single-session immersions provides opportunities to study and discuss individual works. In this session, we’ll examine Picasso’s Acrobat and Young Harlequin.
Works on Paper in the Barnes Collection
Explore the Barnes collection’s rich array of works on paper, including images in ink, graphite, watercolor, tempera, pastel, and gouache. Instructor: Christine Stoughton
Portraiture at the Barnes: From the 15th Century to Modernism
Uncover the wide range of expression that portraits at the Barnes offer. Instructor: Laura L. Watts
The Japanese American Century: Noguchi, Nakashima, and Asawa
Examine the critical contributions Japanese American artists made to the 20th-century art world. Instructor: Joseph Tokumasu Field
Exploring Pictorial Space
Take a closer look at the ways artists create the illusion of depth in paintings and other works of two-dimensional art. Instructor: Michael Williamson
Close-Looking Immersion: Matisse’s Red Madras Headdress
This new series of single-session immersions focuses on individual works in the collection. In this session, we’ll examine Matisse’s Red Madras Headdress.
Mary Cassatt at Work
Explore Cassatt's methods, materials, and contributions to modernism with the curators of the PMA exhibition. Instructors: Laurel Garber, Jennifer Thompson.
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.