The Barnes Foundation Announces 2020 Extended Hours
Elijah Pierce’s America exhibition, tours, virtual talks, and Museum Store Sunday (Nov. 29)
Philadelphia, PA, October 29, 2020—The Barnes Foundation has announced special extended hours between the Thanksgiving and New Year’s holidays—opening as early as 9 am and closing at 6 pm on select days. Normally open Friday through Monday, the Barnes will also be open on Thursday, December 31, for New Year’s Eve. The Barnes Shop is offering a 20% discount on Sunday, November 29—the fourth annual Museum Store Sunday—and shoppers will receive a free gift with any purchase of $50 or more from Friday, November 27, through Sunday, November 29. The Garden Restaurant will offer extended hours on open days. The Barnes will be closed on Christmas Eve (Thursday, December 24), Christmas Day (Friday, December 25), and New Year’s Day (Friday, January 1).
To ensure the safety and well-being of its staff and visitors, the Barnes has health and safety protocols in place. Masks are required, and the number of visitors in the building is limited, with timed tickets to facilitate social distancing. Advance reservations are encouraged to enable contactless ticketing and payment.
“While the holidays are bound to look different this year, the joy that comes with direct encounters with art, and sharing those experiences with loved ones, will be the same as ever,” says Thom Collins, Neubauer Family Executive Director and President of the Barnes Foundation. “With deep gratitude for our frontline team, and with health and safety measures in place, we are pleased to announce extended hours and welcome the community to experience all the Barnes has to offer this holiday season. Our landmark exhibition Elijah Pierce’s America celebrates a virtuoso woodcarver who shared messages of hope, faith, and love through his art. With intimate collection and exhibition tours, a seasonal à la carte menu at the Garden Restaurant, and handcrafted gifts from the Barnes Shop—whether you’d like to shop online or on-site—there is something for everyone.”
Holiday hours at the Barnes Foundation (2025 Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Philadelphia) are listed below:
NOVEMBER 2020
THANKSGIVING DAY, Thursday, November 26: CLOSED
BLACK FRIDAY, November 27: 9 am–6 pm
The Garden Restaurant will be open 9 am–4 pm.
TOURS:
PRIVATE COLLECTION TOURS (9 am & 10 am)
PRIVATE TOURS: ELIJAH PIERCE’S AMERICA (9 am & 10 am)
Saturday, November 28: 9 am–6 pm
The Garden Restaurant will be open 9 am–4 pm.
TOURS:
PRIVATE COLLECTION TOURS (9 am & 10 am)
PRIVATE TOURS: ELIJAH PIERCE’S AMERICA (9:30 am & 10 am)
Sunday, November 29: 10 am–5 pm
The Garden Restaurant will be open 11 am–4 pm.
TOURS:
PRIVATE COLLECTION TOURS (10 am)
PRIVATE TOURS: ELIJAH PIERCE’S AMERICA (10 am)
MUSEUM STORE SUNDAY at the Barnes Shop (10 am–5 pm): Together with over 1,500 museum stores around the world, the Barnes Shop is participating in the fourth annual Museum Store Sunday—offering a 20% discount on all regularly priced items, in store and online. Purchases of $50 or more (in store or online) made from Friday, November 27, through Museum Store Sunday come with a free gift, while supplies last. (Limit one free gift per customer.)
Monday, November 30: 10 am–5 pm
The Garden Restaurant will be open 11 am–4 pm.
TOURS:
PRIVATE COLLECTION TOURS (10 am)
PRIVATE TOURS: ELIJAH PIERCE’S AMERICA (10 am)
DECEMBER 2020–JANUARY 2021
CHRISTMAS EVE, Thursday, December 24: CLOSED
CHRISTMAS DAY, Friday, December 25: CLOSED
Saturday, December 26: 9 am–6 pm
The Garden Restaurant will be open 9 am–4 pm.
TOURS:
PRIVATE COLLECTION TOURS (9 am & 10 am)
PRIVATE TOURS: ELIJAH PIERCE’S AMERICA (9 am & 10 am)
Sunday, December 27: 9 am–6 pm
The Garden Restaurant will be open 9 am–4 pm.
TOURS:
PRIVATE COLLECTION TOURS (9 am & 10 am)
PRIVATE TOURS: ELIJAH PIERCE’S AMERICA (9:30 am & 10 am)
Monday, December 28: 9 am–6 pm
The Garden Restaurant will be open 9 am–4 pm.
TOURS:
PRIVATE COLLECTION TOURS (9 am & 10 am)
PRIVATE TOURS: ELIJAH PIERCE’S AMERICA (9:30 am & 10 am)
Tuesday, December 29: CLOSED
Wednesday, December 30: CLOSED
Thursday, December 31: 10 am–5 pm
The Garden Restaurant will be open 11 am–4 pm.
TOURS:
PRIVATE COLLECTION TOURS (10 am)
PRIVATE TOURS: ELIJAH PIERCE’S AMERICA (10 am)
NEW YEAR’S DAY, Friday, January 1: CLOSED
Saturday, January 2: 9 am – 6 pm
The Garden Restaurant will be open 9 am–4 pm.
TOURS:
PRIVATE COLLECTION TOURS (9 am & 10 am)
PRIVATE TOURS: ELIJAH PIERCE’S AMERICA (9:30 am & 10 am)
Sunday, January 3: 10 am–5 pm (PECO Free First Sunday Family Day hours)
The Garden Restaurant will be open 11 am–4 pm.
PECO FREE FIRST SUNDAY FAMILY DAY: On the first Sunday of each month, the Barnes offers free access to the Barnes collection and special exhibitions; on view now is Elijah Pierce’s America. Online registration is required; tickets are not available on-site.
Monday, January 4: 11 am–5 pm, members-only hour 10–11 am (regular hours)
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EXHIBITION
Elijah Pierce’s America
On view through January 10, 2021
A landmark exhibition featuring the rich and varied sculpture of woodcarver Elijah Pierce (1892–1984), Elijah Pierce’s America is on view in the Roberts Gallery through January 10, 2021. Co-curated by Nancy Ireson, Deputy Director for Collections and Exhibitions & Gund Family Chief Curator at the Barnes, and Zoé Whitley, Director of Chisenhale Gallery in London, this is the first major retrospective of Pierce’s work to be presented outside his home city of Columbus, Ohio, for more than 25 years. More information.
TOURING
Private one-hour tours of the Barnes collection and Elijah Pierce’s America are offered each morning for up to four and five guests, respectively, and include post-tour collection and exhibition access. Tour times are listed above. Reservations are required, and tours must be requested at least three days in advance by calling 215.278.7200.
Daily pop-up talks by the Art Team take place in the Annenberg Court and galleries, offering a great way to explore the collection and learn something new. The free digital guide, Barnes Focus, is designed for self-touring in the Barnes collection. Guests can navigate to barnesfoc.us on their mobile device and simply focus the camera on a painting or object to learn more about it.
DINING
During operating hours, lunch, brunch, and cocktails are available at the Garden Restaurant, with freshly prepared grab-and-go options. Limited indoor seating is available in the Garden Restaurant and the Annenberg Court, and outdoor seating is offered in the restaurant garden or on the covered West Terrace. No reservations or admission tickets are required to dine at the Barnes, and members receive a 10% discount.
PROGRAMS
College Night at the Barnes
Thursday, November 12, 6–9 pm
FREE for college students; registration opens Nov. 6 at noon
College Night at the Barnes, hosted with Campus Philly, is an opportunity to recharge. College students are invited to take a break from on-screen classes and find inspiration through in-person encounters with art. Register for free timed tickets to safely explore the collection galleries and the landmark exhibition Elijah Pierce’s America, which features more than 100 works by the virtuoso woodcarver. Online registration is required—and don’t forget your mask! Find everything you need to know about your visit here.
#BarnesRollCall: Live Talks with Artists and Performers
Thursday, November 19, 4–4:30 pm
FREE
The Barnes is bringing back performers and artists from popular programs like First Friday, Artist Bash, Barnes on the Block, and PECO Free First Sunday Family Day for #BarnesRollCall, a new Instagram Live series! Every other Thursday, Kathleen Greene, our curator of public programs, will host intimate sessions with artists—keeping the energy and essence of our programs alive from the safety of home! #BarnesRollCall is a chance to jam, chat, and bring the creative community together. Watch on Instagram Live on your mobile device. This #BarnesRollCall will feature harpist Elizabeth Steiner and jazz singer and bandleader Dandy Wellington.
PECO Free First Sunday Family Day
Sunday, December 6, 10 am–5 pm
FREE; online registration is required; tickets are not available on-site.
It’s the first Sunday of the month, and we’re excited to offer free access to the Barnes collection and Elijah Pierce’s America. Bring the whole family for an inspiring experience. Even if you can’t make it to the Barnes, we’re bringing the art right to you—with virtual performances and activities on our Twitch channel. Watch live Sunday, December 6, starting at 10 am. There will be no on-site activities and performances at this event.
Facing Change: Race as a Social Construct
Monday, December 14, 6–7:30 pm
FREE; registration required
Join us for Facing Change, our new online speaker series. Every other month, the Barnes is bringing together artists, scholars, and community activists virtually for a multicultural and intergenerational conversation about race in America. The December talk focuses on race as a social construct—the understanding that racial categories are manmade, not supported by biological science. The panel features film and media scholar Rob Buscher, writer and arts administrator Kalela Williams, and performing artist Ani Gavino, with producer Loraine Ballard Morrill as moderator. During the program, you’ll be encouraged to use the chat function to submit your own questions. Ahead of the program, we encourage you to read Buscher’s writing on race in America in Pacific Citizen.
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ABOUT THE BARNES FOUNDATION
The Barnes Foundation is a nonprofit cultural and educational institution that shares its unparalleled art collection with the public, organizes special exhibitions, and presents programming that fosters new ways of thinking about human creativity. The Barnes collection is displayed in ensembles that integrate art and objects from across cultures and time periods, overturning traditional hierarchies and revealing universal elements of human expression. Home to one of the world’s finest collections of impressionist, post-impressionist, and modern paintings—including the largest groups of paintings by Pierre-Auguste Renoir and Paul Cézanne in existence—the Barnes brings together renowned canvases by Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso, Amedeo Modigliani, and Vincent van Gogh, alongside African, Asian, ancient, and medieval art as well as metalwork, furniture, and decorative art.
The Barnes Foundation was established by Dr. Albert C. Barnes in 1922 to “promote the advancement of education and the appreciation of the fine arts and horticulture.” A visionary collector and pioneering educator, Dr. Barnes was also a fierce advocate for the civil rights of African Americans, women, and the economically marginalized. Committed to racial equality and social justice, he established a scholarship program to support young black artists, writers, and musicians who wanted to further their education. Dr. Barnes was deeply interested in African American culture and became actively involved in the Harlem Renaissance, during which he collaborated with philosopher Alain Locke and Charles S. Johnson, the scholar and activist, to promote awareness of the artistic value of African art.
Since moving to Philadelphia in 2012, the Barnes Foundation has expanded its commitment to diversity, inclusion, and social justice, teaching visual literacy in groundbreaking ways; investing in original scholarship relating to its collection; and enhancing accessibility throughout every facet of its program. Hours and ticket prices are listed on our website.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Deirdre Maher, Director of Communications
215.278.7160, press@barnesfoundation.org
Online press office