Barnes Museum — Attraction in Southington

We visited the Barnes on March 7th, 2024 to see the Brodovich Show. The show itself was wonderful. Excellent art with great explanatory text. However, the experience was marred by a staff member. A young staff member who was assigned to monitoring the gallery paced...stomped actually...very audibly in a circuit around the Brodovich galleries, all the while humming loudly. The behavior was bizarre, inappropriate and distracting. In addition the same guard, who had asked my wife to put her coat on, a little later bumped her during his rapid pacing through the galleries. I spoke with another staff member, who was scanning tickets at the Brodovich entry, about the situation. I'm not sure if anything was done since the behavior continued. I would also note that all our other interactions with the staff that day were perfectly fine...positive, friendly, appropriate.

In reading Google reviews we see that customers have complained and raised concerns about staff interactions about dress and accessibility that seem inappropriate and provocative. The Barnes does have an understandably restrictive dress code, given the accessibly of the art. However, there's really no reason for interactions with staff to cause friction if they're handled respectfully. We also see that the Barnes responds to those concerns (on Google) stating they take the complaints seriously. However, since the complaints continue over the past few years it seems that may not be the case.

I would humbly recommend that if not already in place, that the Barnes establish a set of behavior expectations and perhaps provide training around customer interactions, and then, of course, hold them accountable for those interactions. This would benefit the staff, the customers and the reputation of the Barnes. The Barnes is an incredible institution and resource for Philadelphia and beyond. The occasional bad apple, if not managed properly, can cause unnecessary damage to an...

We were killing time before an appointment and Googled good things to do in Naugatuck, happily finding we were a hundred yards from the Barnes. What a wonderful trip into the past, not just into the mid-19th century past when the house was built, but through all the decades the family occupied the house. My favorite thing was the 1949 tv, looking so domestic and friendly amidst beautiful 19th century interior architecture. Our guide Nadia was knowledgeable and engaging and we left feeling we had discovered a true Connecticut treasure, soon afterwards...

Excellent display of mid- to late-Nineteenth and early Twentieth Century items, all from the belongings of the Barnes and Bradley families of Southington. The exhibits provide a look into the every day lives of this locally prominent and well-to-do family. Everything is well displayed and painstakingly cataloged, with seasonal exhibits that show off particular items of interest. Highly recommended for those interested in local or social history, or even for the curious...