The Friends will Appeal to a Higher Court
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Portrait of Albert C. Barnes by Georgia de Chirico, 1926.
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On October 6, 2011, Judge Stanley Ott issued his Opinion turning down the Friends’ Petition, which asked him to re-open hearings on the Barnes case based on new evidence of wrongdoing by former Pennsylvania Attorney General Mike Fisher.
Judge Ott’s Opinion does not deal with the core issue in the Petition filed by Friends’ attorney Samuel C. Stretton, Esquire. Judge Ott wrote this about the improper actions of the former Attor-ney General in the Barnes case: “It is not our job and this is not the time to scrutinize the process or the decisions. “ If it is not the Court’s job and this is not the time, whose job IS it and when IS the time?
The goal of the Friends’ Petition to Orphan’s Court is a full and fair adversarial process about the planned move of the Barnes art collection to Philadelphia. Its rejection by the Court and imposi-tion of financial sanctions (as requested by the Barnes Foundation) are obvious attempts to “kill the messenger” and silence full disclosure about political and financial motivations in the Barnes case. For Judge Ott and the wealthy patrons behind the Barnes move, the truth is more than they can afford. The Friends will appeal Judge Ott’s decision to a higher Court.
The truth will not be silenced. Please generously support the Legal Defense Fund.
“Our Charter calls for a plan for advancement of education...in...the fine arts and the maintenance of an arboretum. These two aspects of one and the same purpose cannot be separated: they are one and indivisible . . . In short, the Foundation as it exists…(is) the ultimate composite entity which prompted us to...devote our money and the rest of our individual lives to... advancing the knowledge and happiness of mankind.” Albert C. Barnes
Testimony of Albert C. Barnes, p. 1 from Barnes Foundation
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“The Barnes Foundation is the single most important American cultural monument of the first half of the
twentieth century.”
Christopher Knight, art critic of the Los Angeles Times
Powerful foundations, politicians, and commercial interests are trying to move the Barnes art collection from its unique setting in Merion, Pennsylvania to a replica in Philadelphia less than five miles away. Although those responsible managed to manipulate the legal system to get permission, the move is unethical and exactly the opposite of what the donor, Albert Barnes, intended to leave as his legacy “to all mankind.” Please join us to oppose the dismantling of the Barnes Foundation. Sign the petition today.
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