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.
Research Notes:
June 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.
Research Notes:
October 2023
New theories and recent discoveries from the Barnes’s curators, scholars, conservators, and archivists.
Research Notes: March 2024
New theories and recent discoveries from the Barnes’s curators, scholars, conservators, and archivists.
Research Notes:
June 2024
New theories and recent discoveries from the Barnes’s curators, scholars, conservators, and archivists.
Research Notes:
August 2024
New theories and recent discoveries from the Barnes’s curators, scholars, conservators, and archivists.
Gift Artfully: Barnes tickets, tours, 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.
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.
Private Collection Tour: Favorite Artists
Choose your favorite artists in the collection for a private one-hour experience for up to eight guests.
Daily Gallery Talks
Every day, our gallery specialists offer talks about the Barnes collection. Learn more about our history, founder, and collection.
Exhibition Tour: Mickalene Thomas: All About Love
Take an in-depth exhibition tour to learn more about Mickalene Thomas’s work and practice.
Private Tour: Mickalene Thomas: All About Love
This one-hour private tour provides an up-close look at All About Love and a selection of Thomas’s key works from the past two decades.
Members-Only Tour: Mickalene Thomas: All About Love
This exclusive exhibition tour provides a closer look at Thomas’s vivid and multifaceted artworks
Research Notes:
November 2024
New theories and recent discoveries from the Barnes’s curators, scholars, conservators, and archivists.
Member Appreciation Days
This December, members get even more—join us for exclusive talks and extra discounts.
December Spotlight Tour: Dreams of Arcadia: Cézanne, Gauguin, Matisse
Explore the works of 19th- and early 20th-century artists who lived in a time of rapid industrialization and yearned for a return to nature.
Members-Only Gallery Talk: Picasso’s Girl with a Goat
Each month, our education, research, and curatorial teams present exclusive talks to members. Today, research fellow Naina Saligram looks at Picasso’s Girl with a Goat.
Register for Spring Classes—Now Open!
January Spotlight Tour: Wicked Paris: The Lure of Montmartre
Learn about the revolutionary artists drawn to the bohemian neighborhood at the turn of the 20th century.
First Friday: Black Buttafly
Philly-based singer-songwriter Kayla Childs, also known as Black Buttafly, performs music from her debut EP.
PECO Free First Sunday Family Day: Getting Better Everyday
Start off the new year with us! Enjoy interactive step performances, family-friendly art activities, and free access to the collection and Mickalene Thomas: All About Love.
In Focus Gallery Talk: Mickalene Thomas: All About Love
An in-depth discussion about Sleep: Deux Femmes Noires with Emma Nell Jacobs. Free with admission; Roberts Gallery
Bosch and Bruegel
Explore works by the Netherlandish painters and the connections between their art. Instructor: Larry Silver
Members-Only Online Tour: Mickalene Thomas: All About Love
This exclusive online tour offers members up-close views of the exhibition.
Paul Gauguin: His Art and Legacy
The course delves into Gauguin’s style, subject matter, and problematic legacy. Instructor: Christa DiMarco
Close-Looking Immersion: Van Gogh’s The Postman
Our 90-minute immersions provide opportunities to study and discuss individual works. Instructor: Kaelin Jewell
Picasso in Focus: New Discoveries at the Barnes
Learn more about Picasso works in the collection with our conservation and research team. Instructors: Christine Romano, Naina Saligram
All About Love Film Series: Shorts
Short films about kinship, curated by BlackStar Film Festival founder Maori Karmael Holmes for Mickalene Thomas: All About Love.
Afternoon with an Ensemble: Room 13
Examine one of Dr. Barnes’s carefully crafted displays of paintings. Instructor: Kaelin Jewell
Collection Concentration: Medieval Modern
Explore the influence of medieval art on Van Gogh, Matisse, and other modern artists. Instructor: Kaelin Jewell
The Traditions of Art
Learn how modern artists adapted earlier traditions in developing new visual languages. Instructor: William Perthes
Members-Only Online Tour: Wicked Paris: The Lure of Montmartre
Learn about the revolutionary artists drawn to bohemian Montmartre at the turn of the 20th century in this virtual collection tour.
The Traditions of Art
Learn how modern artists adapted earlier traditions in developing new visual languages. Instructor: Kaelin Jewell
The Elements of Art
Learn basic aesthetic principles and discover art’s communicative power by studying works in the Barnes collection. Instructor: William Perthes
Matisse in the Studio
This course offers a deep dive into Matisse’s creative process. Instructor: Ellen McBreen
Conversation & Book Signing with Paloma Checa-Gismero
Author Checa-Gismero is joined by Latin American and contemporary art scholars to discuss her new book Biennial Boom: Making Contemporary Art Global.
Online Member Orientation
New members are invited to join us online to learn more about the perks of membership at the Barnes.
February Spotlight Tour: Wicked Paris: The Lure of Montmartre
Learn about the revolutionary artists drawn to the bohemian neighborhood at the turn of the 20th century.
Art Crime and the FBI: How Masterpieces Are Stolen and Recovered
Join a famous art detective for a look at notorious art heists and daring recovery operations. Instructor: Robert Wittman
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 Modernists of Montparnasse: The Barnes and Beyond
Explore early 20th-century Paris and the circle of artists—including Picasso, Modigliani, De Chirico, and Matisse—who shaped the course of modern art. Instructor: Joseph Tokumasu Field
Members-Only Evening Tour: Wicked Paris: The Lure of Montmartre
Members are invited to an exclusive evening tour exploring the revolutionary artists drawn to Montmartre at the turn of the 20th century.
In Focus Gallery Talk: Redon’s Saint George and the Dragon
An in-depth discussion about Odilon Redon’s painting with Penn PhD candidate Emma Nell Jacobs. Free with admission; Room 14
Close-Looking Immersion: Cézanne’s Still Life with Skull
Our 90-minute immersions provide opportunities to study and discuss individual works. Instructor: William Perthes
ARTZ @ The Museum
This program provides free access to the Barnes for people living with dementia and their care partners.
Members-Only Online Tour: The Barnes Collection
This exclusive online tour offers members up-close views of favorite artworks.
Errand into the Maze: The Masterpiece and the Ensemble
Consider the connections between works within Barnes ensembles while seeking a deeper understanding of the collection as a whole. Instructor: Rika Burnham
Members-Only Online Tour: Wicked Paris: The Lure of Montmartre
Learn about the revolutionary artists drawn to bohemian Montmartre at the turn of the 20th century in this virtual collection tour.
Graduate Student Symposium on the History of Art—Keynote Lecture
Professor Christiane Gruber delivers this year's opening lecture, “Islamic Images of the Prophet Muhammad Today.”
Graduate Student Symposium on the History of Art
Discover current research in art history through presentations and moderated discussions.
Looking and Listening: The Art of Atmospheric Sound
This new series explores the relationship between visual art and sound. Instructor: Roksana Filipowska
Members-Only Online Talk: Picasso among the Surrealists
This talk exploring Picasso's relationship with surrealism coincides with the 100th anniversary of the movement.
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
Member Orientation
New members are invited to learn more about the perks of membership at the Barnes.
March Spotlight Tour: Friends and Rivals: Picasso and Matisse
Learn about the complex relationship between these influential modern artists.
At Bloom in the Barnes: The Painted Garden
This workshop includes time in the Barnes galleries and an art-making session focused on gardens and flowers. Instructor: Christine Stoughton
Andrew Wyeth in Context: Art, Place, and Practice
Consider the creative legacy of the American artist, with special insights from his granddaughter. Instructors: William L. Coleman, Victoria Browning Wyeth
African Art in the Barnes: Context and Meanings
Learn the traditional meanings and uses of the African sculpture collected by Dr. Barnes while considering the impact of colonialism and imperialism. Instructor: Dwaune Latimer
In Focus Gallery Talk: Demuth’s Two Trapeze Performers in Red
An in-depth discussion about Charles Demuth’s painting with Penn PhD candidate Emma Nell Jacobs. Free with admission; Room 17
Close-Looking Immersion: Picasso’s Violin, Sheet Music, and Bottle
Our 90-minute immersions provide opportunities to study and discuss individual works. Instructor: Naina Saligram
Exhibition Tour: Cecily Brown: Themes and Variations
Explore the artist’s lush, dynamic paintings, engagement with art history, and feminist point of view.
Private Tour: Cecily Brown: Themes and Variations
This one-hour private tour provides an up-close look at Themes and Variations and some of Brown’s most important works.
Members-Only Online Tour: Friends and Rivals: Picasso and Matisse
Learn about the complex relationship between these influential modern artists.
Members-Only Online Tour: Cecily Brown: Themes and Variations
This exclusive online tour offers members up-close views of the exhibition.
Online Member Orientation
New members are invited to join us online to learn more about the perks of membership at the Barnes.
Contemporary Art and the Canon: Emulation, Pastiche, Parody
Explore the complex relationship between modern artists and the art of the past. Instructor: Paul Galvez
About Faces: A History of the Art of Portraiture
Explore the incredible diversity of portraiture in the collection—from Hals to Van Gogh, Matisse, and Renoir. Instructor: Brian Seymour
Close-Looking Immersion: Memling’s Portrait of a Man
Our 90-minute immersions provide opportunities to study and discuss individual works. Instructor: William Perthes
Preparing for From Paris to Provence
Join us for a behind-the-scenes look at the organization and launch of an exhibition at the Barnes. Instructor: Cindy Kang
The Garden in Impressionism and Post-Impressionism
Learn how 19th-century French garden design—especially the approach to texture and color theory—influenced the impressionists. Instructors: Andrew Bunting, Martha Lucy
Rendez-vous au Café: Café Culture in 19th-Century Art
Cafés hold a special place in the history of modern art. Learn how and why they inspired some of the most famous paintings of the time. Instructor: Caterina Y. Pierre
The Art of Color: Exploring Palettes from the Renaissance to the Fauves
Journey through the vibrant world of artists’ palettes and learn how evolving materials and color theories shaped European painting over the past 400 years. Instructor: Al Gury
Bars, Brawls, and Backstreets: Art of the Ashcan School
Examine this uniquely American period of modern art that focused on the shifting urban landscape of the early 20th century. Instructor: William Perthes
Workshop: Art, Well-Being, and Medicine
Learn how engaging with works of art can strengthen your skills as a healthcare provider. Instructor: William Perthes
Close-Looking Immersion: Matisse’s Blue Still Life
Our 90-minute immersions provide opportunities to study and discuss individual works. Instructor: Kaelin Jewell
Hidden in Plain Sight: The Aesthetics of Everyday Life
This course uses the decorative arts collection at the Barnes as a jumping-off point to explore the artistic qualities of common objects. Instructors: Katherine Feldkamp, William Perthes
Heaven on Earth: The Art of the Byzantine Empire
Dive into the visual culture of the Byzantine Empire, which was influenced by nearly a millennium of religious, social, and political upheaval. Instructor: Kaelin Jewell
Art and the First “Homosexuals”
This course surveys artistic representations of homosexual identity, from the early 1900s through the first decades of the 20th century. Instructor: Jonathan D. Katz
Close-Looking Immersion: Van Goyen’s The Square Watch-Tower
Our 90-minute immersions provide opportunities to study and discuss individual works. Instructor: William Perthes
Art, Well-Being, and Medicine
New program! Our group workshops help medical students and healthcare professionals develop a more empathetic, humanistic approach to patient care.
The Barnes–de Mazia Certificate Program
This special track offers an immersion in the Barnes Method and an introduction to other interpretive approaches.
Gift a Barnes Class
Give the gift of lifelong learning with art history classes taught by Barnes experts.
Saint Joseph’s University Museum Education Graduate Program
A collaboration between the Barnes and SJU, this new online program prepares museum educators to work in public and private institutions, including art, history, and science museums.
Horticulture Certificate Program
Our two-year certificate program covers horticultural science, methods, and design.