Lincoln University and The Barnes Foundation
As president of Lincoln University (1945–1957), Dr. Horace Mann Bond formed a friendship with Albert Barnes, philanthropist and art collector who established the Barnes Foundation. Barnes took a special interest in the institution and built a relationship with its students. In his will Barnes gave Lincoln University the privilege of naming four of the five directors originally defined as the number for the governing board of the Barnes Foundation. The number of directors has since increased in efforts to correct the collection's protracted financial difficulties. This has diluted Lincoln's influence over the valuable collection, now valued at over two billion dollars.
Philanthropist and art collector Albert C. Barnes had an interest in helping underserved youth and populations. Barnes intended his collection be used primarily as a teaching resource. He limited the number of people who could view it, and for years even the kinds of people, with a preference for students and working class. Visitors still must make appointments in advance to see the collection, and only a limited number are allowed in the galleries at one time.
In the mid-20th century, local government restricted traffic to the current campus, located in a residential neighborhood. Barnes' constraints, local factors, and management issues pushed the Foundation near bankruptcy by the 1990s. Supporters began to explore plans to move the collection to a more public location and maintain it to museum standards. To raise money for needed renovations to the main building to protect the collection, the Foundation sent some of the most famous Impressionist and Modern paintings on tour.
In 2002, the Barnes Foundation contested Albert C. Barnes' will, arguing that the Merion location of the collection and small number of Board members limited the Foundation's ability to sustain itself financially. Pennsylvania Governor Edward Rendell brokered a settlement in 2005 between the Barnes Foundation and Lincoln University.
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