The Barnes Foundation Announces $100 Million Second Century Campaign

Looking ahead to the Barnes’s 100th anniversary in 2022, campaign to support educational, curatorial, and community engagement initiatives and grow endowment

Philadelphia, PA, January 23, 2019—Looking ahead to its 100th anniversary and the beginning of its second century of operations in 2022, the Barnes Foundation is publicly launching a $100 million capital campaign to enhance educational programs and community engagement initiatives, support operations, and strengthen the endowment. The Second Century Campaign has reached more than one third of its $100 million goal with over $35 million raised to date. 

“When we announced the Barnes’s move to the heart of Philadelphia, we made important commitments to our community,” says Joseph Neubauer, Chair of the Barnes Foundation Board of Trustees. “We built a state-of-the-art building to safely house and care for the collection, and enabled hundreds of thousands of people from the region and all over the world to experience exceptional works of art and participate in our programs. The Barnes has become an integral part of Philadelphia’s cultural fabric, and, as we look toward our second century, we are recommitting to our educational mission and to ensuring the financial strength of the Barnes. With the Barnes’s strong record of public service and forward momentum, the impact of each gift will be felt immediately by those we serve today and by future generations.” 

Since relocating to the Benjamin Franklin Parkway in downtown Philadelphia in 2012, the Barnes has significantly increased its educational offerings and community engagement, expanded its roster of cultural partnerships and projects, and launched a critically acclaimed program of special exhibitions. The campaign will enable the Barnes to meet the growing public response to its offerings: nearly 1.8 million visitors from all 50 states and 70 countries—including over 60,000 schoolchildren from greater Philadelphia—have visited the Barnes since 2012.

The Barnes has maintained a balanced budget and strong fiscal health while expanding its programs thanks to an extraordinary community of trustees, donors, members—over 18,000 member households—alumni, and volunteers. The Second Century Campaign will ensure the institution’s financial strength into the future as the Barnes continues to grow its service to the community and audiences nationally and internationally. 

The Second Century Campaign, co-chaired by Joseph Neubauer and Barnes Foundation Trustee John Aglialoro, has received significant support from many individuals and foundations, with lead gifts including:

• A $10 million gift from the Neubauer Family Foundation: $5 million endowing the position of Executive Director and President—currently held by Thom Collins—as the Neubauer Family Executive Director and President, and $5 million providing a match to new or increased campaign gifts. 
• A $5 million gift from Aileen K. and Brian L. Roberts that provides major endowment support for the Barnes’s special exhibition program, enabling presentations that reveal new perspectives for experiencing the Foundation’s collection and explore ideas related to the mission of the Barnes.
• A $5 million gift from the Maguire Foundation in honor of Frances M. Maguire, which names the Barnes’s Garden Pavilion—an addition that opened to the public in July 2017—the Frances M. Maguire Garden Pavilion.
• A $2.5 million gift from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation providing support for the Barnes’s digital audience engagement initiatives. 

Individual supporters of the Second Century Campaign to date include Joan Carter and John Aglialoro, John Alchin and Hal Marryatt, Jill and Sheldon Bonovitz, Betsy and Ed Cohen, and Lisa D. Kabnick and John H. McFadden. Catherine Liggins Hughes, founder and chairperson of Urban One, has provided a substantial multi-year gift of advertising and promotional support. The Barnes’s entry promenade has been named the William B. Dietrich Promenade thanks to support from the William B. Dietrich Foundation.

“Dr. Barnes’s dual commitments to accessible education about and through the visual arts, and to diversity, inclusion, and social justice, inform every aspect of the Barnes Foundation,” says Thom Collins, Neubauer Family Executive Director and President. “As we advance our commitment to those principles and serve an ever-larger audience, our programs and offerings will continue to grow. The Second Century Campaign will provide essential endowment and multi-year project support for the public initiatives that enhance Philadelphia’s cultural and civic life and will enhance our leadership in the field for the future.” 

The focal points of the Second Century Campaign are organized into six “Centers for Innovation,” supporting innovation in curatorial scholarship, education and public programs, community outreach and social service, digital audience engagement, conservation and scientific analysis, and operational excellence. Aligned with the key priorities of the Barnes’s strategic plan—progressive programming, engaging audiences, ensuring excellence in governance and management, and building financial capacity—each of these centers has its own goals, program array, and dedicated resources. The center dedicated to digital audience engagement has been named the Knight Center for Digital Innovation in Audience Engagement in recognition of its support from Knight Foundation. 

The Second Century Campaign complements the Barnes’s ongoing initiatives focused on continued fiscal responsibility and careful stewardship of its assets. Last year the Barnes entered an educational affiliation with Saint Joseph’s University to enhance the Barnes horticulture education program.

ABOUT THE BARNES FOUNDATION
The Barnes Foundation is a non-profit 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 early modernist paintings—including the largest groups of paintings by Pierre-Auguste Renoir and Paul Cézanne in existence—the Barnes brings together renowned masterworks by such artists as Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso, Amedeo Modigliani, and Vincent van Gogh, alongside ancient, medieval, Renaissance, and non-Western 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.” Since moving to Philadelphia in 2012, the Barnes has expanded its commitment to teaching visual literacy in groundbreaking ways, investing in original scholarship relating to its collection, and enhancing accessibility throughout every facet of its program. 

The Barnes Foundation is open Wednesday–Monday, and tickets can be purchased on-site, online, or by calling 215.278.7200. Ticket prices and current hours are listed on our website.

FOR MORE INFORMATION
Deirdre Maher, Director of Communications 
215.278.7160, press@barnesfoundation.org 
Online press office