Sunday at The Barnes Foundation

L-R: Blake Bradford, Director of Education at The Barnes, and E. Steven Collins

L-R: Blake Bradford and Congressman Chaka Fattah

E. Steven Collins and Jan Rothschild, Senior VP of Communications at The Barnes

Once you set your eyes on what’s in The Barnes on Ben Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia, you will walk away with a totally different respect for art.

It doesn’t seem humanly possible that one man (Albert Barnes) could have collected so much art in one lifetime, and not a very long one at that.

While attending 'Blogging While Brown' this weekend, Patricia Washington, VP of Cultural Tourism, Greater Phila Tourism Marketing Group, did a quick presentation about Philly360 and mentioned the Sunday event occurring at The Barnes. I asked her about tickets and she said it may be sold out, but if I get there early, I can be in the audience for E. Steven Collins' radio broadcast where he is counting on a live audience.

Great tip.

After the radio broadcast, we were permitted to stay at The Barnes to view the exhibits.  

There are Renoirs, Cezannes, Rousseaus, Matisses, Picassos, Monets, Soutines as far as the eye can see. There’s a large collection of African art, Pennsylvania Dutch furniture, metal work, tapestry, native american jewelry, dishes, and Egyptian art among the collection. One room after another with priceless art right before your eyes, much of it you can reach out and touch - but you better not.

It was said that The Barnes will bring more people to Philadelphia than the Super Bowl. It is expected to be a huge tourist attraction, but you can't just walk in. You must make a reservation and purchase tickets well in advance. 

You don’t have to be an art lover to love what you’ll see in The Barnes.

The quote of the morning came from Blake Bradford who said, "Barnes was convinced that all people have contributed great moments of creativity and he collected from them all."

Click HERE to visit the Barnes Foundation site