art of the steal

j and i are avid documentary fans (see here). we typically are known for watching depressing documentaries - whether they surround murders, natural disasters, poverty, wars, and death; however, the documentary that we just watched saddened me in a completely different way.

the documentary "art of the steal" came in the netflix queue and as usual i had no idea what to expect (since j primarily manages the queue). the story is about dr. albert barnes who acquired the most robust and expensive collection of post-impressionist and modern art before his time. his collection has more cezanne's than paris, 46 picassos, 181 renoirs, and 56 matisse paintings. he did not use his collection for money and they were not for sale, but only for art education. the barnes foundation was only available to those who took classes there which angered a great deal of the philadelphia wealthy and political folks.

the story follows barnes and then his foundation after he died suddenly in 1951. this movie didn't make me sad in the way seeing children suffer makes me upset, but this story was almost worse because it shows the major flaws in humanity. what has happened to decency and compassion? is humanity always up for grabs when money is at stake?

if you love art and conspiracies, then this is a documentary for you! check out the preview below!


"you must not lose faith in humanity. humanity is an ocean; if a few drops of the ocean are dirty, the ocean does not become dirty" - gandhi