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It's been called the greatest theft of art since the Second World War. The Art of the Steal reveals how a private collection of paintings became the envy of the Louvre, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and other major institutions - and the prize in a battle between one man's vision and the forces of commerce and politics. Founded in 1922 by wealthy American drug developer and art collector Albert C. Barnes, the Barnes Foundation became the finest collection of paintings by Renoir, Cezanne, Matisse, Van Gogh and other masters. Housed in Lower Merion, Pennsylvania, the Barnes Foundation was envisioned by Barnes as an art school, not a public museum, but ever since Barnes' death in 1951, the fight over its future has been underway. On one side are the artists, historians and lawyers defending Barnes' wish that the entire collection (valued at over $25 billion) never be moved, loaned or sold; and on the other side, the politicians, huge charitable trusts, tourism boards and rich socialites pushing to relocate it to downtown Philadelphia. This is a real-life David vs. Goliath story, a tale of suspense in which hangs the fate of some of the most sublime works of art ever created.
Don Argott