Albert C. Barnes with the Steeple Cock (Coq de clocher), c. 1946. Photograph by Angelo Pinto. Photograph Collection, Barnes Foundation Archives
About the Exhibition
Dr. Barnes’s interest in metalwork led him to antiques dealers in France and England, and in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, where he purchased mostly American, French, and German wrought iron. From early 1936 until his death in 1951, Dr. Barnes collected nearly 900 pieces of iron, each unique and forged by hand. His collection also included the work of smiths from Spain, Italy, and the Netherlands.