born Jan. 2, 1872, Philadelphia, Pa., U.S.
died July 24, 1951, Chester county, Pa.
Pharmaceutical manufacturer and art collector.
He obtained a medical degree and later studied in Germany. In 1902 he made a fortune with his invention of the antiseptic Argyrol. After building a mansion in Merion, Pa., in 1905, he began to collect art seriously, amassing some 180 paintings by Pierre-Auguste Renoir , 66 by Paul Cézanne , 35 by Pablo Picasso , and an extraordinary collection of 65 works by Henri Matisse . The Barnes Foundation, housed in quarters next to his Merion home, was chartered on Dec. 4, 1922, and opened in 1925. The 22-room structure displayed his collection in a highly personal manner that eschewed standard museum practice. The foundation also was intended to promote art education by providing art classes and by establishing a publishing program. (Barnes himself wrote and coauthored a number of books on art.) In 1961, after extensive litigation, his galleries were opened to the public.