Exterior of the Barnes Foundation
Metro Travel Advisory: Metrorail service is currently running at reduced service. If you plan to take Metrorail to meet the bus, please give yourself extra time to factor in potential delays or consider an alternate mode of transportation. Please visit WMATA for additional information.
Please Note: This tour accommodates 42 participants by motorcoach. CDC and Smithsonian Covid-19 guidelines in effect at the time of the program will be followed. Updates will be posted to SmithsonianAssociates.org. Protocols such as distanced seating, mask mandate, and/or proof of vaccination may be required. Read the COVID requirements prior to registration.
The Barnes is often considered the greatest post-impressionist and early modern art collection in the world, with more than 3,000 masterpieces. Opened in 2012, and designed by New York architects Tod Williams and Billie Tsien, its downtown Philadelphia location has a gallery section clad in limestone and replicates the previous facility’s Merion gallery on the inside. With an Ellsworth Kelly sculpture on the grounds, reflecting pools, and lush landscaping, the building was designed to be a complement to the world-famous Barnes art collection.
The Barnes museum in Philadelphia houses dazzling collections of French modern and post-impressionist paintings that can be enjoyed with audio guide supplements. Tour participants have the opportunity to view masterpieces by Renoir, Cezanne, and Matisse, as well as Picasso, Seurat, Rousseau, Modigliani, Monet, Manet, and Degas. Also see Greek, Roman, and Egyptian antiquities, Chinese painting, African sculpture, Southwestern retablos, Native American art, and American decorative arts.
Enjoy a three-course private lunch at the museum. The tour is led by art historian Ursula Wolfman, who offers a lecture en route to Philadelphia.
World Art History Certificate elective: Earn 1/2 credit*
General Information
- Registration for this tour will end by 2 p.m. ET on Friday, October 22, 2021.
- The tour meets and leaves by bus from the Holiday Inn Capitol, 550 C St., SW (corner of 6th and C Sts., SW) with a pickup stop at the I-495 Exit 27 commuter parking lot at about 8:25 a.m.
*Enrolled participants in the World Art History Certificate Program receive 1/2 elective credit. Not yet enrolled? Learn about the program, its benefits, and how to register here.
