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.
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.
Barnes North
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 nine guests.
Private Collection Tour: Favorite Artists
Choose your favorite artists in the collection for a private one-hour experience for up to ten guests.
Daily Gallery Talks
Every day, our gallery specialists offer talks about the Barnes collection. Learn more about our history, founder, and collection.
Research Notes:
November 2024
New theories and recent discoveries from the Barnes’s curators, scholars, conservators, and archivists.
In Focus: Henri Rousseau
New Offering: Study Rousseau’s enigmatic paintings using our state-of-the-art interactive platform. Zoom in on his strange imagery; roam through his tangled jungles; discover why Rousseau continues to captivate.
In Focus: The Ancient World
A fresh look at ancient art. Learn about works from ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome.
In Focus: Pierre-Auguste Renoir
An introduction to Renoir’s life and work, with interactive videos that let you explore his canvases up close. See why Renoir is more than just rosy cheeks and cute babies.
The Art of Looking: An Introduction to the Barnes Method
This interactive online course will teach you the basics of the Barnes Method of studying art, at your own pace.
The Art of Display: Exploring the Barnes Ensembles
Uncover connections hidden in plain sight by studying Dr. Barnes’s enigmatic displays of art at your own pace.
October Spotlight Tour: Cézanne: The Man and His Art
Explore some of Cézanne’s most iconic works and learn how his distinctive style influenced later generations of artists.
Exhibition Tour: Henri Rousseau: A Painter’s Secrets
Take a deep dive into this landmark exhibition that reexamines the work of the self-taught artist.
Private Tour: Henri Rousseau: A Painter’s Secrets
This docent-led tour of Henri Rousseau: A Painter’s Secrets is a private one-hour experience for you and up to nine guests.
Members-Only Tour: Henri Rousseau: A Painter’s Secrets
Members are invited to exclusive tours of Henri Rousseau: A Painter’s Secrets in the Roberts Gallery.
Members-Only Online Tour: Henri Rousseau: A Painter’s Secrets
This exclusive online tour offers members up-close views of the exhibition.
New Member Reception
Explore Henri Rousseau: A Painter’s Secrets and the collection at this special evening reception for new members.
November Spotlight Tour: Radical Visionaries: Van Gogh, Pippin, and Beyond
Explore the self-taught and rebellious painters in the collection who broke new ground with their work.
PECO Free First Sunday Family Day: Joy and Light
Don’t miss all-ages dance workshops, family-friendly art activities, and free access to our galleries.
Impressionism and the Music of Claude Debussy and His Contemporaries
Explore the connections between impressionism in painting and music. Instructor: Mimi Stillman
Echoes in Clay and Code: Native American Art Across Generations
From ancestral pottery to contemporary digital media, explore Native art as a living, changing cultural expression. Instructor: Dakota H. Stevens
Members-Only Online Tour: The Barnes Collection
See favorite works like never before, with up-close looks that reveal more about the art and artist.
Online Salon: Made of Metal
Learn about 19th-century metalwork from a panel of distinguished art and history scholars.
Primitivism and Modern Art
Learn about the concept of primitivism and its enormous role in modern European and American art. Instructor: Alison Boyd
First Friday: AAPI Jazz Collective & PAAFF
Music by AAPI Jazz Collective, plus a screening from the Philadelphia Asian American Film Foundation’s annual festival.
Rousseau Film Series: The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou
This series, curated by BlackStar Film Festival founder Maori Karmael Holmes, reflects on themes in Henri Rousseau: A Painter’s Secrets.
Deep Dive: de Chirico’s Gladiators in the Arena and End of Combat
An in-depth discussion about two paintings by Giorgio de Chirico with Penn MA student Nina Huang. Free with admission; Room 14
ARTZ @ The Museum
This program provides free access to the Barnes for people living with dementia and their care partners.
Members-Only Online Tour: Self-Taught Visionaries: Van Gogh, Pippin, and Beyond
This exclusive virtual tour focuses on self-taught artists in the Barnes collection.
Close-Looking Immersion: Persian Manuscript Rustam Lifts Qanun from His Horse
Immerse yourself in a tiny 16th-century Persian manuscript from the Barnes collection. Instructor: Naina Saligram
Bon Appétit! Food and Art in 18th- and 19th-Century France
Explore the history of French food culture and how it shows up in modern paintings. Instructor: Christa DiMarco
Supporter Reception
Supporter- and Sustainer-level members enjoy exclusive after-hours access to Henri Rousseau: A Painter’s Secrets.
Exhibition Seminar: Henri Rousseau: A Painter’s Secrets
Explore the dreamlike imagery of Henri Rousseau face-to-face in our exhibition gallery. Instructor: Martha Lucy
The Garden Design of Piet Oudolf
Explore the naturalistic design philosophy of Piet Oudolf, whose iconic projects include New York’s High Line and the newly planted Calder Gardens. Instructors: Erin Monda, Andrew Bunting
Members-Only Online Tour: Henri Rousseau: A Painter’s Secrets
This exclusive online tour offers members up-close views of the exhibition.
Member Orientation
New members are invited to learn more about the perks of membership at the Barnes.
Young Professionals Night: A Painter’s Secrets
After-hours art, style, and music await Philadelphia’s young leaders and Barnes Contemporaries members.
Members-Only Gallery Talk: Modigliani: Figure to Form, Entropy to Turmoil
This exclusive talk offers an in-depth look at the life and work of Amedeo Modigliani.
December Spotlight Tour: Radical Visionaries: Van Gogh, Pippin, and Beyond
Explore the self-taught and rebellious painters in the collection who broke new ground with their work.
Pillars of the Collection
Spend the day exploring iconic works in the Barnes collection and the artists that helped shape Dr. Barnes’s vision. Instructor: Naina Saligram
First Friday: April Varner
Enjoy performances by the New York–based jazz singer and access to the the collection and Henri Rousseau: A Painter’s Secrets.
PECO Free First Sunday Family Day: Reimagined and Retold
A free day of art and family fun, plus performances by the Philadelphia Youth Orchestra.
Deep Dive: Matisse’s Music Lesson and Studio with Goldfish
An in-depth discussion about two paintings by Henri Matisse with Penn MA student Nina Huang. Free with admission; Room 19
Exhibition Seminar: Henri Rousseau: A Painter’s Secrets
Explore the dreamlike imagery of Henri Rousseau face-to-face in our exhibition gallery. Instructor: Martha Lucy
Members-Only Online Tour: Self-Taught Visionaries: Van Gogh, Pippin, and Beyond
This exclusive virtual tour focuses on self-taught artists in the Barnes collection.
Discovering Daumier’s The Ribalds
This immersive workshop is an opportunity to study and discuss an individual work in the Barnes galleries. Instructor: William Perthes
Close-Looking Immersion: Cézanne’s Portrait of a Woman
Spend an hour with Cézanne’s haunting Portrait of a Woman. Instructor: William Perthes
Rousseau Film Series: Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives
This series, curated by BlackStar Film Festival founder Maori Karmael Holmes, reflects on themes in Henri Rousseau: A Painter’s Secrets.
Members-Only Online Tour: Henri Rousseau: A Painter’s Secrets
This exclusive online tour offers members up-close views of the exhibition.
Saint Joseph’s University Museum Education Graduate Program
A collaboration with SJU, this new program prepares future museum educators for roles in public and private institutions.
Horticulture Certificate Program
Our two-year certificate program covers horticultural science, methods, and design.
The Barnes–de Mazia Certificate Program
This special track offers an immersion in the Barnes Method and an introduction to other interpretive approaches.
Art, Well-Being, and Medicine
Our group workshops help medical students and healthcare professionals develop a more empathetic, humanistic approach to patient care.
Gift a Barnes Class
Give the gift of lifelong learning with art history classes taught by Barnes experts.