A fascinating biography of the philanthropist Albert Barnes, whose pioneering collection of modern art was meant to transform America’s soul

From prominent critic and biographer Blake Gopnik comes a compelling new art collector biography of America’s first great collector of modern art, Albert Coombs Barnes. Raised in a Philadelphia slum shortly after the Civil War, Barnes rose to earn a medical degree and then made a fortune from a pioneering antiseptic treatment for newborns. Never losing sight of the working-class neighbors of his youth, Barnes became a ruthless advocate for their rights and needs. His vast art collection—181 Renoirs, 69 Cézannes, 59 Matisses, 46 Picassos—was dedicated to enriching their cultural lives. A miner was more likely to get access than a mine owner.

Gopnik’s meticulous research reveals Barnes as a fierce advocate for the egalitarian ideals of the Progressive Era. But while his friends in the movement worked to reshape American society, Barnes wanted to transform the nation’s aesthetic life, taking art out of the hands of the elite and making it available to the average American.

The Maverick’s Museum offers a vivid picture of one of America’s great eccentrics. The sheer ferocity of Barnes’s democratic ambitions left him with more enemies than allies among people of all classes, but for a circle of intimates, he was a model of intelligence, generosity, and loyalty. In this compelling portrait, Gopnik reveals a life shaped by contradictions, one that left a lasting impact through the renowned Barnes Foundation.

This definitive biography goes beyond the collection to reveal the complex, controversial man who changed American art.

• A Gilded Age Rags-to-Riches Story: Follow Albert C. Barnes from a Philadelphia slum to a medical degree and a fortune built on a revolutionary antiseptic, driven by a ferocious ambition to upend the established order.

• The World’s Greatest Modern Art Collection: Discover the story behind the staggering collection—including 181 Renoirs, 69 Cézannes, and 59 Matisses—and the radical vision to make it a tool for educating working-class Americans, not the elite.

• A Fierce and Contradictory Figure: Uncover the portrait of one of America’s great eccentrics—a ruthless businessman, a fierce advocate for social justice, and a loyal friend whose terrible temper became legendary.