Overview
A fascinating biography of the philanthropist Albert Barnes, whose pioneering collection of modern art was meant to transform America's soul From prominent critic and biographer Blake Gopnik comes a compelling new portrait of America's first great collector of modern art, Albert Coombs Barnes. Raised in a Philadelphia slum shortly after the Civil War, Barnes rose to earn a medical degree and then made a fortune from a pioneering antiseptic treatment for newborns. Never losing sight of the working-class neighbors of his youth, Barnes became a ruthless advocate for their rights and needs. His vast art collection--181 Renoirs, 69 Cézannes, 59 Matisses, 46 Picassos--was dedicated to enriching their cultural lives. A miner was more likely to get access than a mine owner. Gopnik's meticulous research reveals Barnes as a fierce advocate for the egalitarian ideals of his era's progressive movement. But while his friends in the movement worked to reshape American society, Barnes wanted to transform the nation's aesthetic life, taking art out of the hands of the elite and making it available to the average American. The Maverick's Museum offers a vivid picture of one of America's great eccentrics. The sheer ferocity of Barnes's democratic ambitions left him with more enemies than allies among people of all classes, but for a circle of intimates, he was a model of intelligence, generosity, and loyalty. In this compelling portrait, Gopnik reveals a life shaped by contradictions, one that left a lasting impact.
Full Product Details
Author: Blake Gopnik ,
Jeremy Arthur
Publisher: HarperCollins
Imprint: HarperCollins
Edition: Unabridged edition
Dimensions:
Width: 14.00cm
, Height: 3.00cm
, Length: 14.50cm
Weight: 0.227kg
ISBN: 9798874876722
Publication Date: 18 March 2025
Audience:
General/trade
,
General
Format: Audio
Publisher's Status: Active
Availability: Available To Order
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Author Information
Blake Gopnik, one of North America's leading art critics, is the author of the comprehensive biography Warhol. He has served as the art and design critic at Newsweek, and as the chief art critic at the Washington Post and Canada's the Globe and Mail. In 2017, he was a Cullman Center fellow in residence at the New York Public Library, and in 2015 he held a fellowship at the Leon Levy Center for Biography at the City University of New York. He has a PhD in art history from Oxford University and is a regular contributor to the New York Times. Jeremy Arthur is an audiobook narrator. His readings include Power Foods for the Brain by Dr. Neal Barnard, Thoughtful by S. C. Stephens, Strange Fates by Marlene Perez, and Spring Chicken by Bill Gifford, among others.
