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people who supported the move argued that the collection should instead become a major tourist attraction for
Philadelphia. The supporters of Merion claimed that the Philadelphians were less interested in Barnes's will than in enhancing their power by taking over the control of a $ 25+ billion asset.
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The will of Barnes established the
Foundation with strict rules against ever moving the collection or any of its paintings away from its location, and to serve primarily as a school for the teaching of art, art criticism, and art appreciation, and not primarily as a museum for the general public. The
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gave the film 3 1/2 out of 4 stars and wrote, "It is perfectly clear exactly what Barnes specified in his will. It was drawn up by the best legal minds. It is clear that what happened to his collection was against his wishes. It is clear that the city fathers acted in obviation of those wishes, and
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Director Don Argott argued that presenting the story unfairly was not his intention, saying that he wanted supporters of the move to have a voice in the film. He added, "there are a lot of allegations and accusations and ... I think in fairness, certainly as a documentary filmmaker you want to have
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refrained from contributing funds to make its endowment sufficient, but secretly arranged to provide $ 100 million of taxpayer funds only once the control of the
Foundation was taken over by the new board. The new president and officers of the board succeeded in challenging the will to enable it to
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423:, president and executive director of the foundation, said, "The film was full of unsubstantiated allegations and very one-sided. It was made by people who were hostile to the move and very angry about it. That's why we didn't cooperate with the filmmakers. It was not in our interests to do so."
388:. Director Don Argott described the Q&A session that followed the film: "People were yelling, screaming at each other. These issues bring out these emotions. I'm not sure why. But for some reason the Barnes stirs something up in people." Executive Producer
376:(a powerful local billionaire alleged to have orchestrated the move); and Bernard C. Watson (the president of the Barnes Foundation, who was accused of giving over its control to the Philadelphia authorities) declined to be interviewed for the documentary.
361:. What makes the collection extraordinary is not just the artists, but that Dr. Barnes acquired so many of the very best works of each of those masters. The extraordinarily high overall quality of the works is the chief special attribute of the collection.
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send some pieces on tour to earn enough money for needed renovations to the facility to preserve the artwork and provide security. But little went to the upkeep of the facility, because the funds were drained away by the legal contest of the will.
321:. The film presents an account of the claimed breaking of Barnes's will, which it presents as a decades-long process that was initiated by Philadelphians who were enemies of Barnes while he was alive, and that was continued by their heirs.
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reported that 85% of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 60 reviews with an average score of 7.2/10. The site's consensus of reviews was: "Deeply esoteric and unapologetically one-sided,
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said " no idea we would ever be where we are today ... everywhere we go, there's lines of people. We've not had a Q&A session where they haven't had to throw us out, because it went on too long."
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In response to the film's release, Bernard C. Watson, chairman of the Barnes
Foundation board of trustees and one of the figures criticized in the film, published an editorial letter in
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The collection was located in a residential neighborhood about five miles from
Philadelphia. Because of the constant efforts by the Philadelphia aristocracy to seize the collection, the
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were upheld in a court of appeals. What is finally clear: It doesn't matter a damn what your will says if you have $ 25 billion, and politicians and the establishment want it."
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is a bit too shocked by the vulgarity of commerce, but it's memorable when it meditates on the changing face of where we look at art, and how that changes the art itself."
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In addition to the New York Film
Festival and Toronto International Film Festival, the film was also named an Official Selection of the AFI Film Festival 2009.
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While the film includes journalists, art historians and public figures on both sides of the long debate, many of the figures discussed in it, such as
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407:. The film was ultimately distributed to more than 100 theaters in North America and made available for online streaming through SundanceNow.
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everybody's point of view come across in the most fair way that you can and we tried."
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This article is about the 2009 documentary. For the 2013 dramatic film, see
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claiming the film "lacks objectivity and perspective."
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for its location. The collection was moved in 2012 to
548:"Toronto Deal: "Art" Stolen For New Sundance Label"
53:. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
461:As of October 2016, the review aggregator website
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896:Documentary films about law in the United States
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399:, the film was acquired by Rainbow Media, now
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487:"The Art of Stealing from the Rich and Dead"
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