The Art Of The Steal (2009)

84% of critics liked it
(58 reviews)
87% of users liked it
(1,001 ratings)

Born into a working-class family in Philadelphia, Albert C. Barnes was a man who through hard work and determination became a doctor and medical researcher, founding a successful pharmaceutical firm that made him a multimillionaire. As his fortune grew, Barnes developed a taste for art and in time… More Born into a working-class family in Philadelphia, Albert C. Barnes was a man who through hard work and determination became a doctor and medical researcher, founding a successful pharmaceutical firm that made him a multimillionaire. As his fortune grew, Barnes developed a taste for art and in time assembled one of the world's most remarkable private collections, featuring original paintings by Van Gogh, Renoir, Picasso, Cézanne, and many other important artists. Barnes relied on his own instincts rather than the advice of experts when he bought paintings, and he had little use for the pretentious attitudes of Philadelphia's art collectors and high society; the animosity between Barnes and the city's art establishment grew to the point that in 1922 he opened the Barnes Foundation, a private gallery where he kept his collection rather than share it with institutions such as the Philadelphia Museum of Art. The Barnes Foundation was open by invitation only, and the doctor preferred to have his collection seen by students and serious art lovers rather than those he felt didn't appreciate the work. Barnes died in 1951, and made strict provisions in his will that his collection was not to be sold, lent to other museums, or removed from the grounds of the Barnes Foundation. Lincoln University, a traditionally African-American college, was appointed to oversee the foundation's collection. But after the death of Barnes' protégée Violette de Mazia in 1988, Lincoln University's trustees took full control of the collection, now estimated to be worth 25 billion dollars, and a number of individuals and organizations inexperienced in the world of art laid hands upon the Barnes archive. The Art of the Steal is a documentary by Don Argott that explores how greed, political power, and good intentions colluded to violate Albert C. Barnes' wishes and scatter his collection across the globe. The Art of the Steal was an official selection at the 2009 Toronto International Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: PG, 1 hr. 41 min.
Directed By: Don Argott
Genres: Musical & Performing Arts, Documentary

In Theaters: Feb 26, 2010 Wide
On DVD: Jul 27, 2010
Studio: IFC Films

Critic Reviews

Cliff Doerksen, Chicago Reader
Argott beautifully explicates how this crew pulled off the most daring daylight art theft in history, though his passionate identification with the pro-Barnes faction limits the movie's political nuance.
Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor
The film's good versus bad scenario is, while understandable, too simplistic.
Ann Hornaday, Washington Post
The Art of the Steal ultimately gets mired in the legal weeds, a snare made all the more frustrating by the fact that the move is a fait accompli.
Kyle MacMillan, Denver Post
A blunt, persuasive documentary.
Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal
I found it fascinating for a number of reasons, balanced reporting not among them.
Tom Long, Detroit News
The Art of the Steal lays out a good story, but perhaps not the whole story.
Alison Gang, San Diego Union-Tribune
No matter what side you end up taking, you still might be tempted to call your lawyer to go over your will just one more time.
Christopher Long, Movie Metropolis
The Art of the Steal paints only in black and white.
Glenn Heath Jr., Slant Magazine
Built on a foundation of purist devotion and ideology, The Art of the Steal concisely critiques the modern "rules" of the art game.
Kam Williams, Sly Fox
A tragic, true tale exposing America's ugly, two-tiered system of justice defined by the color line.
Rob Thomas, Capital Times (Madison, WI)
Its lack of objectivity doesn't hurt the film as a piece of entertainment, although it does seem to weaken its own argument a little.
Dan Lybarger, eFilmCritic.com
Don Argott's new documentary makes some of the most outlandish conspiracy theories seem strangely believable.
Philip Martin, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
...A highly partisan and energetic documentary
Robert W. Butler, Kansas City Star
A terrifically convoluted yarn with dozens of major players.
Mike Scott, Times-Picayune
There's a nagging, one-sided feel to this unapologetic bit of activist filmmaking, but that doesn't make the story any less compellilng, or the film any less enraging.
Adam Tobias, Watertown Daily Times
Barnes might be only one man, but The Art of the Steal shows exactly what happens when politicians become too hungry with power and heavily infringe upon our private lives. Now I guess I can see why the Tea Party is all up in arms.
John Beifuss, Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN)
A model of documentary filmmaking and activist cinematic journalism: unfailingly entertaining, expertly constructed and undeniably -- perhaps justifiably -- biased.
Kimberley Jones, Austin Chronicle
While The Art of the Steal makes a very convincing -- even bone-chilling -- argument... the film fails to even ponder why easier access to some of the world's greatest art treasures might not be an entirely bad thing.
Susan Granger, SSG Syndicate
Controversial and suspenseful, it evolves like a crime thriller as a collector's legally documented wishes are corrupted by the vulgarity of commerce.
Rubin Safaya, Cinemalogue.com
That tens of thousands of years of human and cultural progress could manifest itself in a single human being... and be obliterated in less than a half-century by commoditization to the advantage of public and private power-brokers is the great tragedy.

Read all 22 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

Greg S

Documentary on the political infighting in the struggle to control the Barnes Foundation, a charitable trust that owns post-Impressionist masterpieces worth billions of dollars. Surprisingly interesting (if one sided) tale of love of money triumphing over the love of art; how many… More
Documentary on the political infighting in the struggle to control the Barnes Foundation, a charitable trust that owns post-Impressionist masterpieces worth billions of dollars. Surprisingly interesting (if one sided) tale of love of money triumphing over the love of art; how many movies will you ever see where the Pew Charitable Trust and the Philadelphia Museum of Art are the bad guys?
Walter M

"The Art of the Steal" is a documentary about the history of the Barnes Foundation, a philanthropic and educational institution created by Dr. Arthur Barnes in 1922 in suburban Philadelphia to house his collection of impressionist art, valued currently somewhere in the… More
"The Art of the Steal" is a documentary about the history of the Barnes Foundation, a philanthropic and educational institution created by Dr. Arthur Barnes in 1922 in suburban Philadelphia to house his collection of impressionist art, valued currently somewhere in the billions. The film's focus is on the fight to move the foundation to Philadelphia and I do concede that this violation of Barnes' will could be considered a travesty. However, the documentary allows for no such subtle shadings; you are either with the Friends of the Foundation or you are greedy and pure evil. On the one hand, you have Dr. Barnes who is venerated(his successor is deemed a disciple, not a protege) and his followers, who once sat at his knee to listen to him dispense knowledge to those wise enough to seek it and now dictate taste and come off as intellectual snobs.(Shouting 'philistines!' at a protest is not going to win you any friends.) And then there is Walter Annenberg, the devil incarnate, publishing magnate and all that is wrong with Philadelphia society, apparently plotting his revenge against Barnes for decades for taking his collection to the suburbs of which the move is the final result.(Being photographed with Nixon does not necessarily make one evil, even though it could do severe damage to one's karma.) But Philadelphia of 1922 is not the same city it is today, with the clearest sign of that being an African-American mayor. Nor did the documentary get me to rethink my support of museums. Yes, the wealthy patronize them but they also allow the average citizen to see classic art found nowhere else and I fondly recall an exhibit of British Museum treasures in Victoria, BC a couple of years ago.
Jeff T

Wicked documentary that traces a beurocratic takeover of an artistic institution with enough twists and turns to maks SHUTTER ISLAND look like ROMPER ROOM (not that it doesn't already...). It's a case of "this story musta rocked the artworld, but I never heard about… More
Wicked documentary that traces a beurocratic takeover of an artistic institution with enough twists and turns to maks SHUTTER ISLAND look like ROMPER ROOM (not that it doesn't already...). It's a case of "this story musta rocked the artworld, but I never heard about it" that leads to "damn, now I have to tell everybody about this story!" So I'm telling you. It's called THE ART OF STEAL and for bargain shoppers it's even available on demand.. Just sayin'...
Bill C

Interesting subject matter, but it runs a little long. I'm not really that compelled to worry about what happens to my stuff 85 years after I'm dead.

Cast
            
            Dr. Albert C. Barnes
            
            John Street
            
            Richard H. Glanton
            
            Julian Bond
            
            Ross L. Mitchell
            
            Nick Tinari
            
            Dr. Robert Zaller
            
            David d'Arcy
            
            Christopher Knight
            
            Barry Munitz
            
            John Anderson
            
            Dr. Colin B. Bailey
            
            William Glackens
            
            Irv Nahan
            
            Jay Raymond
            
            Richard L. Feigen
            
            Harry Sefarbi
            
            Lucinda Fleeson
            
            Marcelle Pick
            
            David W. Rawson
            
            Bruce H. Mann
            
            Tom L. Freudenheim
            
            Robert Marmon
            
            Toby Marmon
            
            Walter Herman
            
            Nancy Herman
            
            D. Michael Fisher
            
            Edward G. Rendell
            
            Bernard C. Watson
            
            Carolyn T. Carluccio
            
            Mark D. Schwartz
            
            Jim Gerlach
            
See full cast