The Maverick's Museum: Albert Barnes and His American Dream

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Synopsis
A fascinating biography of the philanthropist Albert Barnes, whose pioneering collection of modern art was meant to transform America’s soulFrom 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.
Copyright:
2024

Book Details

Book Quality:
Publisher Quality
ISBN-13:
9780063284050
Related ISBNs:
9780063284036
Publisher:
HarperCollins
Date of Addition:
Copyrighted By:
Estate of Pablo Picasso / Artists Rights Society
Adult content:
No
Language:
English
Has Image Descriptions:
No
Categories:
Nonfiction, Travel, Art and Architecture, Biographies and Memoirs, Medicine
Submitted By:
Bookshare Staff
Usage Restrictions:
This is a copyrighted book.

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