He died July 24, 1951, but that American inventor of a mild silver protein anti-infective (compound for mucous membrane tissues), he become noted art collector. When you enter into the Barnes Foundation Galleries, remember that man, born in a distant day in January in Philadelphia (Pennsylvania, US) in 1872. Albert Coombs Barnes grew up in in South Philadelphia, where he managed to attend the University of Pennsylvania Medical School. In 1894–95 he attended schools in Germany to study advanced chemistry. When he returned to Philadelphia, togheter a German chemist, he devised the formula for Argyrol, from which he made a fortune. In 1905 he built a mansion in Merion, where began collecting paintings. In 1912 he commissioned two artists to collect some Impressionist and Post-Impressionist paintings in France. His most successful trip was in 1922–23 (when he purchased more than 100 paintings). Barnes’s taste included the early American Modernists, but over the years, his collection grew, until to include dozens of paintings (by Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Henri Matisse, and Pablo Picasso). He was one of the first American collectors to appreciate the art of Amedeo Modigliani. The Foundation structure, displayed his collection in an highly personal manner. The foundation, also was intended to promote art education (by providing art classes taught by a full-time staff and by establishing a publishing program). Barnes died in an auto accident. The foundation’s neighbours were unhappy with the heavy traffic and inadequate parking. http://www.barnesfoundation.org/about/history/albert After extensive litigation, Courts ultimately allowed the collection to move to new purpose-built galleries in Philadelphia, that attempted to keep the art displayed in the manner Barnes had dictated.
