Ex-Boss Says That The Barnes Wasn’t Bankrupt

In a recent blog post, Kimberly Camp—who headed The Barnes from 1998 to 2005—says that bankruptcy wasn’t the reason the foundation needed to move to the Parkway. Instead, Camp says that the Foundation had no debt (and a cash surplus) at the time, but needed to move regardless.

The reason for the Barnes Foundation move on to the Parkway in Philadelphia was simple. The same Indenture – the very same document that freezes the Barnes Foundation collection in time – also said very plainly, very specifically that if the Barnes Foundation was not viable in Merion, the collection should go to a Philadelphia institution.

Camp also says that, while the Foundation wasn’t in debt, “saying so made the rescue so much more gallant.” A piece on Philly.com’s PhillyDeals blog reveals that this revelation has those that opposed the move in the first place a little angrier than usual.

“This new information is shocking, where the [former] president and CEO of the Barnes Foundation admits that everything that was said during the trial about not having enough money was false,” thundered anti-move Friends of the Barnes lawyer Samuel Stretton, in a letter to Superior Court that was released by Friends leader Evelyn Yaari.

Stretton (who faces a contempt finding in relation to the case) asked Judge Stanley Ott, who heard the legal challenge to the move and ruled to allow it, to hold a hearing on Camp’s disclosure “since apparently false information was presented.” [Philly.com]