Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art is a museum of American art in

Bentonville, Arkansas Bentonville is the tenth-largest city in Arkansas, United States and the county seat of Benton County. The city is centrally located in the county with Rogers adjacent to the east. The city is the birthplace of and world headquarters locatio ...

. The museum, founded by

Alice Walton Alice Louise Walton (born October 7, 1949) is an American heiress to the fortune of Walmart. In September 2016, she owned over in Walmart shares. As of October 2022, Walton has a net worth of $59 billion, making her the 19th-richest person, and ...

and designed by Moshe Safdie, officially opened on 11 November 2011. It offers free public admission.

Overview and founding

, the daughter of

Walmart Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores from the United States, headquarter ...

founder

Sam Walton Samuel Moore Walton (March 29, 1918 – April 5, 1992) was an American business magnate best known for founding the retailers Walmart and Sam's Club, which he started in 1962 and 1983 respectively. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. grew to be the world's ...

, spearheaded the Walton Family Foundation's involvement in developing Crystal Bridges. The museum's glass-and-wood design by architect Moshe Safdie and engineer

Buro Happold Buro Happold (previously ''BuroHappold Engineering'') is a British professional services firm that provides engineering consultancy, design, planning, project management, and consulting services for buildings, infrastructure, and the environment ...

features a series of pavilions nestled around two creek-fed ponds and forest trails. The soil is flinty silt loam derived from

chert Chert () is a hard, fine-grained sedimentary rock composed of microcrystalline or cryptocrystalline quartz, the mineral form of silicon dioxide (SiO2). Chert is characteristically of biological origin, but may also occur inorganically as a ...

and cherty

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms w ...

and is mapped as Noark-Bendavis complex. The complex includes galleries, meeting and classroom spaces, a library, a sculpture garden, a museum store designed by architect

Marlon Blackwell Marlon Blackwell (born November 7, 1956) is an American architect and university professor in Arkansas. He is a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects. He is founder and principal at Marlon Blackwell Architects, a design firm establish ...

, a restaurant and coffee bar, named Eleven after the day the museum opened, "11/11/11". Crystal Bridges also features a gathering space that can accommodate up to 300 people. Additionally, there are outdoor areas for concerts and public events, as well as extensive nature trails. It employs approximately 300 people, and is within walking distance of downtown Bentonville. The museum has amassed $488 million in assets as of August 2008, an amount that will increase as more pieces are continually added to the museum's collection.Making change at WalMart
It is the first major art museum (over $200 million endowment) to open in the United States since 1974. Over $317 million of the project's cost has been donated by Alice Walton. A 2013 ''Forbes'' ranking of the world's richest people placed the Walmart heiress at No. 16, with an estimated net worth of $26.3 billion. In 2005, art historian

John Wilmerding John Currie Wilmerding Jr. (born April 28, 1938), is an American professor of art, collector, and curator, and is best known as a prolific author of books on American art. Early life Wilmerding was born in Boston, Massachusetts on April 28, 19 ...

was hired for acquisition and advice on museum programming. Wilmerding commented that Alice Walton "will not spend at any cost" and will do her "homework on almost every individual acquisition and will ask for paperwork on market comparables". He stated that often when an artwork became available through a private sale, Walton would state 'Wait. It will come to auction where we can get it at a better price,' and she was usually correct. He also stated that the museum ranks at least in the top half dozen of American art museums. The museum's "quality and its range and depth already place it among one of the very best." Headlines were generated after delays in construction and considerably higher costs for the museum than originally proposed to the city of Bentonville, Arkansas led to concerns about the favorable tax exemptions granted to the museum from the state in 2005 to secure its construction. Total tax losses to the state of Arkansas and the city of Bentonville are estimated at $17 million based on the financial disclosures given by the museum in the 2008 court case with

Fisk University Fisk University is a private historically black liberal arts college in Nashville, Tennessee. It was founded in 1866 and its campus is a historic district listed on the National Register of Historic Places. In 1930, Fisk was the first Africa ...

. The total amount of tax loss is estimated to have become considerably higher since then, but may never be disclosed due to the museum's guarded financial practices, including its decision not to disclose the amount spent since 2008 to secure collections, major art pieces, and lesser known works. However, the museum's IRS Form 990-PF notes acquisitions of $43.6 million during 2008, $81.9 million during 2007, $97.3 million in 2006. Through 2008, the total art acquisitions were at least $222.8 million. Don Bacigalupi was appointed director of the museum in August 2009. Previously, Robert G. Workman had served as director. In early May 2011, the museum announced three endowments by the Walton Family Foundation totaling $800 million. These endowments were established for operating expenses, acquisitions and capital improvements. The operating endowment, totaling $350 million, is being used to contribute to the museum's base annual operating expenses expected to total between $16–20 million per year. The acquisition endowment, totaling $325 million, will be used to fund additions to the museum's permanent collection. The remaining $125 million will be used as a capital improvement endowment to fund future improvements to and maintenance of the museum.

Collaboration with other museums and institutions

In 2006, the museum partnered with the

National Gallery of Art The National Gallery of Art, and its attached Sculpture Garden, is a national art museum in Washington, D.C., United States, located on the National Mall, between 3rd and 9th Streets, at Constitution Avenue NW. Open to the public and free of ch ...

in an attempt to purchase Thomas Eakins' '' The Gross Clinic'' from Thomas Jefferson University. Under the terms of the agreement, the two museums agreed to pay a record $68 million, but the university gave Philadelphia 45 days to match the offer. The

Philadelphia Museum of Art The Philadelphia Museum of Art (PMoA) is an art museum originally chartered in 1876 for the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. The main museum building was completed in 1928 on Fairmount, a hill located at the northwest end of the Benjamin ...

and Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts agreed to collectively match the offer and the painting remained in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...

. The purchase forced both museums to sell some of their best Eakins pieces including ''Cowboy Singing'' and ''The Cello Player''. In April 2007, Crystal Bridges acquired another Eakins belonging to Thomas Jefferson University entitled '' Portrait of Professor Benjamin H. Rand'' for an estimated $20 million. Walton held talks with Randolph-Macon Woman's College in

Lynchburg, Virginia Lynchburg is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. First settled in 1757 by ferry owner John Lynch, the city's population was 79,009 at the 2020 census. Located in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mounta ...

in spring of 2007. The college was exploring selling part of the Maier Museum of Art's collection, but voted instead to sell select items from the collection at

Christie's Christie's is a British auction house founded in 1766 by James Christie. Its main premises are on King Street, St James's in London, at Rockefeller Center in New York City and at Alexandra House in Hong Kong. It is owned by Groupe Artémi ...

. In 2006,

agreed to sell a 50% stake in a 101-piece Stieglitz collection to Crystal Bridges for $30 million. The collection was donated to the university by Georgia O'Keeffe in 1949. This agreement became tied up in a legal battle between Fisk University and the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum in New Mexico, but the museum withdrew its lawsuit. The Tennessee Attorney General attempted unsuccessfully to stop the sale. In October 2010, a judge ruled that a 50% stake in the collection could be sold to Crystal Bridges if modifications to the contract were made so that Fisk University could not lose its interest in the collection, nor could the joint venture holding ownership of the collection between Fisk University and Crystal Bridges be based in Delaware (or outside Tennessee Courts). The modified agreement would allow the works to stay at Fisk University until 2013 and then begin a two-year rotation with Crystal Bridges. In April 2012, the Tennessee Supreme Court upheld a lower court decision to allow the sale to move forward. A few months later on August 2, the Davidson County Chancery Court approval a Final Agreed Order that established joint ownership between Fisk University and Crystal Bridges through the newly established Stieglitz Art Collection, LLC. The operating agreement required Fisk University to set aside $3.9 million of the $30 million sale proceeds to be used to establish a fund for the care and maintenance of the collection at the Carl Van Vechten Gallery at Fisk University. The court dispute cost Fisk University $5.8 million in legal fees. Since 2012, Crystal Bridges has participated in a four-year collaboration with the musée du Louvre in Paris,

High Museum of Art The High Museum of Art (colloquially the High) is the largest museum for visual art in the Southeastern United States. Located in Atlanta, Georgia (on Peachtree Street in Midtown, the city's arts district), the High is 312,000 square feet (28, ...

in Atlanta, and the

Terra Foundation for American Art The Terra Foundation for American Art is a privately operated nonprofit organization dedicated to the support of American art exhibitions, projects, academic research, and publications worldwide. Its goal is to promote a greater understanding and a ...

. The resulting exhibitions are called American Encounters and feature works from the collections of all four partners. Each year, for the length of the collaboration, the museums develop the exhibition around a theme, such as portraiture. American Encounters has been seen in Paris, Bentonville, and Atlanta.

The Momentary

In early 2020, Crystal Bridges opened a satellite facility called The Momentary focused on visual and performing arts, culinary experiences, festivals, and artists-in-residence.

Permanent collection

The museum's permanent collection features American art from the Colonial era to the contemporary period. All of the featured artists are United States citizens, though some spent most of their art careers in Europe. Notable works include a

Charles Willson Peale Charles Willson Peale (April 15, 1741 – February 22, 1827) was an American Painting, painter, soldier, scientist, inventor, politician and naturalist. He is best remembered for his portrait paintings of leading figures of the American Revolu ...

portrait of George Washington as well as paintings by

George Bellows George Wesley Bellows (August 12 or August 19, 1882 – January 8, 1925) was an American realist painter, known for his bold depictions of urban life in New York City. He became, according to the Columbus Museum of Art, "the most acclaimed Ame ...

, Jasper Cropsey,

Asher Durand Asher Brown Durand (August 21, 1796, – September 17, 1886) was an American painter of the Hudson River School. Early life Durand was born in, and eventually died in, Maplewood, New Jersey (then called Jefferson Village). He was the eighth ...

, Thomas Eakins, Marsden Hartley, Winslow Homer, Eastman Johnson,

Charles Bird King Charles Bird King (September 26, 1785 – March 18, 1862) was an American portrait artist, best known for his portrayals of significant Native American leaders and tribesmen. His style incorporated Dutch influences, which can be seen most promi ...

, John La Farge, Stuart Davis, Romare Bearden,

Norman Rockwell Norman Percevel Rockwell (February 3, 1894 – November 8, 1978) was an American painter and illustrator. His works have a broad popular appeal in the United States for their reflection of the country's culture. Rockwell is most famous for the ...

, Mary McCleary,

Agnes Pelton Agnes Lawrence Pelton (1881–1961) was a modernist painter who was born in Germany and moved to the United States as a child. She studied art in the United States and Europe. She made portraits of Pueblo Native Americans, desert landscapes and s ...

, and

Walton Ford Walton Ford (born 1960 in Larchmont, New York) is an American artist who makes paintings and prints in the style of naturalist illustrations, often depicting extinct species. Each of his paintings is a meticulous, realistic study in flora and fa ...

. Also included are works by

Chuck Close Charles Thomas Close (July 5, 1940 – August 19, 2021) was an American painter, visual artist, and photographer who made massive-scale photorealist and abstract portraits of himself and others. Close also created photo portraits using a very l ...

, Jasper Johns, Alfred Maurer,

Jackson Pollock Paul Jackson Pollock (; January 28, 1912August 11, 1956) was an American painter and a major figure in the abstract expressionism, abstract expressionist movement. He was widely noticed for his "Drip painting, drip technique" of pouring or splas ...

Tom Wesselmann Thomas K. Wesselmann (February 23, 1931 – December 17, 2004) was an American artist associated with the Pop Art movement who worked in painting, collage and sculpture. Early years Wesselmann was born in Cincinnati. From 1949 to 1951 he atte ...

and

Andrew Wyeth Andrew Newell Wyeth ( ; July 12, 1917 – January 16, 2009) was an American visual artist, primarily a realist painter, working predominantly in a regionalist style. He was one of the best-known U.S. artists of the middle 20th century. In his ...

. Two works, Richard Caton Woodville's ''War News from Mexico'' and Arthur Fitzwilliam Tait's ''The Life of a Hunter: A Tight Fix'' were included in ''American Stories: Paintings of Everyday Life, 1765–1915'', a traveling exhibition organized by the

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...

. The Woodville painting was deaccessioned by the

National Academy of Design The National Academy of Design is an honorary association of American artists, founded in New York City in 1825 by Samuel Morse, Asher Durand, Thomas Cole, Martin E. Thompson, Charles Cushing Wright, Ithiel Town, and others "to promote the ...

, and was purchased in 1994 by Detroit collector Richard Manoogian. The piece was later purchased in 2004 by Crystal Bridges. In May 2005, the museum purchased a coveted Asher B. Durand landscape entitled '' Kindred Spirits'' from the

New York Public Library The New York Public Library (NYPL) is a public library system in New York City. With nearly 53 million items and 92 locations, the New York Public Library is the second largest public library in the United States (behind the Library of Congress) ...

for more than $35 million in a sealed auction. In September 2012, the museum announced the acquisition of a major 1960 painting by

Mark Rothko Mark Rothko (), born Markus Yakovlevich Rothkowitz (russian: Ма́ркус Я́ковлевич Ротко́вич, link=no, lv, Markuss Rotkovičs, link=no; name not Anglicized until 1940; September 25, 1903 – February 25, 1970), was a Lat ...

entitled ''No. 210/No. 211 (Orange)''. The abstract expressionist painting had been in a private Swiss collection since the 1960s and had only been shown in public twice. Sculpture also figures prominently in the collection, on view in interior galleries and along outdoor sculpture trails. Sculptors represented in the permanent collection include Vanessa German, Paul Manship, Roxy Paine, Mark di Suvero, and James Turrell. In January 2014 Crystal Bridges acquired the Bachman–Wilson House by architect

Frank Lloyd Wright Frank Lloyd Wright (June 8, 1867 – April 9, 1959) was an American architect, designer, writer, and educator. He designed more than 1,000 structures over a creative period of 70 years. Wright played a key role in the architectural movements o ...

. The New Jersey house was dismantled and relocated to Bentonville. Select auction results by date for items in the collection (including buyer's premium) are: *''Green River, Wyoming'' by Thomas Moran, purchased 5 December 2002 for $2.9245 million *''George Washington'' by

, purchased 18 May 2004 for $6.1675 million *''Robert Louis Stevenson and his wife'' by

John Singer Sargent John Singer Sargent (; January 12, 1856 – April 14, 1925) was an American expatriate artist, considered the "leading portrait painter of his generation" for his evocations of Edwardian-era luxury. He created roughly 900 oil paintings and more ...

, purchased 19 May 2004 for $8.8 million *''Orca Bates'' by Jamie Wyeth, purchased 19 May 2004 for $360,000. *''Portrait of Anne Page'' by

Dennis Miller Bunker Dennis Miller Bunker (November 6, 1861 – December 28, 1890) was an American painter and innovator of American Impressionism. His mature works include both brightly colored landscape paintings and dark, finely drawn portraits and figures. One ...

, purchased 1 December 2004 for $3.592 million *''A French Music Hall'' by Everett Shinn, purchased 1 December 2004 for $7.848 million *''The Indian and the Lily'' by George de Forest Brush, purchased 1 December 2004 for $4.824 million *''The Studio'' by

, purchased 1 December 2004 for $2.472 million *''Spring'' by Winslow Homer, purchased 1 December 2004 for $2.024 million *''Ottoe Half Chief, Husband of Eagle of Delight'' by

, purchased 1 December 2004 for $1.352 million *''Wai-Kee-Chai, Sanky Chief, Crouching Eagle'' by

, purchased 1 December 2004 for $792,000 *''Portrait of Carolus Duran'' by

, purchased 2 December 2004 for $724,300 *''Sick Puppy'' by

, purchased 2 December 2004 for $511,500 *''George Washington'' (The Constable-Hamilton Portrait) by

Gilbert Stuart Gilbert Charles Stuart ( Stewart; December 3, 1755 – July 9, 1828) was an American painter from Rhode Island Colony who is widely considered one of America's foremost portraitists. His best-known work is an unfinished portrait of George Washi ...

, purchased 30 November 2005 for $8.136 million *''Mrs. Theodore Atkinson, Jr.'' by

John Singleton Copley John Singleton Copley (July 3, 1738 – September 9, 1815) was an Anglo-American painter, active in both colonial America and England. He was probably born in Boston, Massachusetts, to Richard and Mary Singleton Copley, both Anglo-Irish. Afte ...

, purchased 30 November 2005 for $3.376 million *''

Marquis de Lafayette Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de La Fayette (6 September 1757 – 20 May 1834), known in the United States as Lafayette (, ), was a French aristocrat, freemason and military officer who fought in the American Revolutio ...

'' by Samuel F. B. Morse, purchased 30 November 2005 for $1.36 million *''Winter Scene in Brooklyn'' by

Francis Guy Francis Guy (1760–1820) was an English-born American Colonial Era painter. Mostly remembered for his topographic views of Brooklyn, Guy is today highly regarded as one of America's earliest and most important landscape artists.http://dallasmus ...

, purchased 30 November 2005 for $1.024 million *''Rose Garden'' by Maria Oakey Dewing, purchased 24 May 2006 for $2.032 million *''The Lantern Bearers'' by

Maxfield Parrish Maxfield Parrish (July 25, 1870 – March 30, 1966) was an American painter and illustrator active in the first half of the 20th century. He is known for his distinctive saturated hues and idealized neo-classical imagery. His career spann ...

, purchased 25 May 2006 for $4.272 million *''Dr. William Smith'' by

, purchased 23 May 2007 for $1.888 million *''Still Life with Stretcher, Mirror, Bowl of Fruit'' by

Roy Lichtenstein Roy Fox Lichtenstein (; October 27, 1923 – September 29, 1997) was an American pop artist. During the 1960s, along with Andy Warhol, Jasper Johns, and James Rosenquist among others, he became a leading figure in the new art movement. ...

, purchased 20 June 2007 for £4.052 million (US$8.055 million – based on 20 June 2007 exchange rates) *''Homage to the Square: Joy'' by Josef Albers, purchased 14 November 2007 for $1.497 million *''View of Mount Etna'' by Thomas Cole, purchased 29 November 2007 for $541,000 *''Cupid and Psyche'' by Benjamin West, purchased 28 January 2009 for $458,500 *''Our Town'' by Kerry James Marshall, purchased 13 May 2009 for $782,500 *''Supine Woman'' by Wayne Thiebaud, purchased 12 November 2009 for $1.818 million *''Portrait of a Girl and Her Dog in a Grape Arbor'' by Susan Catherine Moore Waters purchased 7 March 2010 for $41,475 *''Portrait of Martha Graham'' by Marisol Escobar, purchased 13 May 2010 for $116,500 *''Dolly Parton'' by

Andy Warhol Andy Warhol (; born Andrew Warhola Jr.; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American visual artist, film director, and producer who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art. His works explore the relationsh ...

, purchased 14 May 2010 for $914,500 *''Standing Explosion (Red)'' by

, purchased 14 May 2010 for $722,500 *''The Return of the Gleaner'' by Winslow Homer, purchased 19 May 2010 for $2.2105 million *''Trinity'' by Adolph Gottlieb, purchased 11 May 2011 for $1.1425 million *''Hammer and Sickle'' by

, purchase 13 November 2012 for $3.4425 million *''Untitled, 1989 (Bernstein 89 24)'' by Donald Judd, purchased 14 November 2012 for $10.1625 million *''Blackwell's Island'' by

Edward Hopper Edward Hopper (July 22, 1882 – May 15, 1967) was an American realist painter and printmaker. While he is widely known for his oil paintings, he was equally proficient as a watercolorist and printmaker in etching. Hopper created subdued drama ...

, purchased 23 May 2013 for $19.1638 million *''Coca-Cola ' by

, purchased 12 November 2013 for $57.3 million *''Flag'' by Jasper Johns, purchased 11 November 2014 for $36.005 million *''No. 210/211 (Orange)'' by

, purchased 11 November 2014 for $44.965 million *''Jimson Weed/White Flower No. 1'' by Georgia O'Keeffe, purchased 20 November 2014 for $44.405 million

Selected works in the museum collection by chronological order

File:Stuart-george-washington-constable-1797.jpg, ''Portrait of George Washington (The Constable-Hamilton Portrait, 1797)'' by

File:Benjamin West - Cupid and Psyche - 2010.44 - Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art.jpg, ''Cupid and Psyche'' (1808) by Benjamin West File:The Village Politicians by John Lewis Krimmel, c. 1819.JPG, ''The Village Politicians'' (c. 1819) by John Lewis Krimmel File:Francis Guy - Winter Scene in Brooklyn.jpg, ''Winter Scene in Brooklyn'' (c.1817-1820) by

File:Samuel Beals Thomas and family.jpg, ''Samuel Beals Thomas, with His Wife, Sarah Kellogg Thomas, and Their Two Daughters, Abigail and Pauline'' (1830) by Edward Dalton Marchant File:View of Mt. Edna Cole.jpg, ''View of Mount Etna'' (1843–44) by Thomas Cole File:War News from Mexico.jpg, ''War News from Mexico'' (1848) by Richard Caton Woodville File:Thomas Cole The Good Sheperd.jpg, ''The Good Shepherd'' (1848) by Thomas Cole File:Asher Durand Kindred Spirits.jpg, '' Kindred Spirits'' (1849) by Asher B. Durand File:Benjamin rand.jpg, ''Portrait of Professor Benjamin Rand'' (1874) by Thomas Eakins File:Mary Cassatt The Reader 1877.jpg, ''The Reader'' (1877) by Mary Cassatt File:Bierstadt Albert Indian Encampment Late Afternoon.jpg, ''Indian Encampment, Late Afternoon'' (1878) by

Albert Bierstadt Albert Bierstadt (January 7, 1830 – February 18, 1902) was a German-American painter best known for his lavish, sweeping landscapes of the American West. He joined several journeys of the Westward Expansion to paint the scenes. He was not ...

File:Sargent - Robert Louis Stevenson and His Wife.jpg, ''Robert Louis Stevenson and His Wife'' (1885) by

File:The-Art-Student-(or-Portrait-of-James-Wright)-large.jpg, ''The Art Student: Portrait of James Wright'' (circa 1890) by Thomas Eakins File:Theodore Robinson - World's Columbian Exposition - 2010.73 - Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art.jpg, ''World's Columbian Exposition'' (1894) by Theodore Robinson File:Maxfield Parrish The Lantern Bearers 1908.jpg, ''The Lantern Bearers'' (1908) by

File:GW Bellows Aushubarbeiten bei Nacht 1909.jpg, ''Excavation at Night'' (1908) by

References

External links

*
Architectural Record, ''Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Safdie Architects''
commentary, slide show, and drawings, January 2012

photos, 21 November 2011
Bridges Acquires New Work by Walton Ford
Carol Vogel, ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', 16 June 2011
American Art
Artnews 1/12/2012
Virtual tour of the Crystal Bridges Museum
provided by

Google Arts & Culture Google Arts & Culture (formerly Google Art Project) is an online platform of high-resolution images and videos of artworks and cultural artifacts from partner cultural organizations throughout the world. It utilizes high-resolution image technol ...

* {{Bentonville, Arkansas Art museums and galleries in Arkansas Museums in Benton County, Arkansas Buildings and structures in Bentonville, Arkansas Museums of American art 2011 establishments in Arkansas Art museums established in 2011 Moshe Safdie buildings