- Posted in All University
- Category: Campus News
The Barnes Foundation recently dedicated a new $150 million building in downtown Philadelphia to house the priceless art collections of Dr. Albert C. Barnes. Previously, the collection had been housed at the Barnes mansion in Merion, Pennsylvania.
On Friday, May 18, 2012, Lincoln University President Robert Jennings and The Barnes Foundation President Derek Gillman signed a joint resolution regarding the visual arts program collaborative between the two entities. The agreement, approved by The Barnes Foundation Board of Trustees, reads:
WHEREAS, The Barnes Foundation houses one of the finest collections of post-impressionist and early modern paintings in the world, formed by Dr. Albert C. Barnes, comprising an extraordinary number of masterpieces by Renoir, C’zeanne, Matisse, and Picasso, together with major works by Monet, Manet, Degas, Seurat, van Gogh, Gauguin, Rousseau, Modigliani, Soutine, Pippin and others, as well as a superb collection of African sculpture, and fine examples of European and American furniture, ceramics and ironwork, and Native American arts, that together form the teaching heart of an institution which, being much more than an art collection, is the vibrant reflection of a life inspired by humanity and creative expression; and
WHEREAS, Lincoln University and The Barnes Foundation have had a significant relationship since 1946, when Dr. Albert C. Barnes, founder and president of The Barnes Foundation, first met Dr. Horace Mann Bond, then President of Lincoln University, and subsequently encouraged Lincoln students to attend classes in Merion; and
WHEREAS, In 1950, Dr. Barnes amended the Indenture of Trust for The Barnes Foundation to provide, following the death of the survivor of Albert and Laura Barnes, four of the five Barnes Foundation Board seats would eventually be filled by individuals nominated by Lincoln University, and that, subsequently, many attempts were made to establish an academic relationship between Lincoln University and The Barnes Foundation without lasting success; and
WHEREAS, In the new governance structure of The Barnes Foundation, of 2004, Lincoln University nominates individuals to fill five of the fifteen Barnes Foundation Board seats, each of whom has a strong commitment to maintain a collaborative academic program between Lincoln University and The Barnes Foundation; and
WHEREAS, Following the restructuring of the governance of The Barnes Foundation, it was recognized that establishing an undergraduate degree program between the two institutions would benefit both Lincoln University and The Barnes Foundation, by combining the strengths of an already-existing, highly innovative undergraduate Visual Arts Program at Lincoln with the unique resources of The Barnes Foundation, one of the world’s greatest collections of post-impressionist and early modern art; and
WHEREAS, The Visual Arts Program curriculum at Lincoln University includes museum studies and studio art options, lectures, studio courses and off-campus experiences utilizing the professional resources of both The Barnes Foundation and Lincoln University, an now as a significant requirement that students appreciate the role of visual arts institutions in the preservation of cultural heritage, presentation of contemporary art, and training students for museum careers; and
WHEREAS, It is the desire of Lincoln University and of The Barnes Foundation to memorialize in writing the Resolution of their respective Boards committing to a continuing collaboration of Lincoln’s Visual Arts Program, now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the Lincoln University Board of Trustees and The Barnes Foundation Board of Trustees commit to continuing the collaboration to benefit Lincoln’s Visual Arts Program, endorsing the desire of Dr. Albert Coombs Barnes, expressed in 1950, to support and develop a unique relationship between the two institutions, that will be of particular benefit to members of Lincoln University.
Agreed to this eighteenth day of May, Two-Thousand and Twelve by the parties whose signatures are ascribed below:
Derek Gillman
President, The Barnes Foundation
Robert R. Jennings
President, Lincoln University