Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art

Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art is a museum of American art in Bentonville, Arkansas. The museum, founded by Alice Walton and designed by Moshe Safdie, officially opened on 11 November 2011. It offers free public admission.

Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art

Panoramic view of the museum
Interactive fullscreen map
Established	11 November 2011 (2011-11-11)^[1]
Location	600 Museum Way, Bentonville, Arkansas
Coordinates	36°22′57.0″N 94°12′13.0″W / 36.382500°N 94.203611°W / 36.382500; -94.203611
Type	American art
Founder	Alice Walton
Director	Rod Bigelow
Architect	Moshe Safdie
Nearest car park	free garage and surface lot on site
Website	crystalbridges.org

Crystal Bridges at dusk

Overview and founding

Alice Walton, the daughter of Walmart founder Sam Walton, 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 features a series of pavilions nestled around two creek-fed ponds and forest trails. The soil is flinty silt loam derived from chert and cherty limestone and is mapped as Noark-Bendavis complex.^[2] The 217,000 square feet (20,200 m²) complex includes galleries, meeting and classroom spaces, a library, a sculpture garden, a museum store designed by architect Marlon Blackwell, a restaurant and coffee bar, named Eleven after the day the museum opened, "11/11/11".^[3] 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.^[4]

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.^[5] 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.^[5] In 2023, Forbes called Walton the richest woman in the United States, with assets worth $66.5 billion.^[6]

In 2005, art historian John Wilmerding was hired for acquisition and advice on museum programming.^[7] 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".^[8] 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.^[9] 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."^[8]

 

The main pavilion of the museum features a curved ceiling made with laminated beam supports and bowed glass walls.

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.^[10] 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.^[10] 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.^{[11][better source needed]} 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.^[8]

Don Bacigalupi was appointed director of the museum in August 2009.^[12] Previously, Robert G. Workman had served as director.^[13] 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.^[14] As of July 2023, the museum had listed assets of over $1.7 billion. ^[15]

Collaboration with other museums and institutions

 

Portrait of Professor Benjamin H. Rand (1874) by Thomas Eakins

 

Walker Landing plaza between galleries

In 2006, the museum partnered with the National Gallery of Art 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 and Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts agreed to collectively match the offer and the painting remained in Philadelphia. The purchase forced both museums to sell some of their best Eakins pieces including Cowboy Singing and The Cello Player.^[16] 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.^[17]

Walton held talks with Randolph-Macon Woman's College in Lynchburg, Virginia 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.^[18] In 2006, Fisk University 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,^[19] 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.^[20] 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.^[21][22] The court dispute cost Fisk University $5.8 million in legal fees.^[23]

Since 2012, Crystal Bridges has participated in a four-year collaboration with the musée du Louvre in Paris, High Museum of Art in Atlanta, and the Terra Foundation for American Art. 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

Main article: 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.^[24]

Permanent collection

 

Pavilion of restaurant "Eleven" with the main lobby building and 19th-century galleries at left

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 portrait of George Washington as well as paintings by George Bellows, Jasper Cropsey, Asher Durand, Thomas Eakins, Marsden Hartley, Winslow Homer, Eastman Johnson, Charles Bird King, John La Farge, Stuart Davis, Romare Bearden, Norman Rockwell, Mary McCleary, Agnes Pelton, and Walton Ford. Also included are works by Chuck Close, Jasper Johns, Alfred Maurer, Jackson Pollock, Tom Wesselmann and Andrew Wyeth.^[9][25] 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.^[26][27] The Woodville painting was deaccessioned by the National Academy of Design, and was purchased in 1994 by Detroit collector Richard Manoogian. The piece was later purchased in 2004 by Crystal Bridges.^[28]

In May 2005, the museum purchased a coveted Asher B. Durand landscape entitled Kindred Spirits from the New York Public Library for more than $35 million in a sealed auction.^[29] In September 2012, the museum announced the acquisition of a major 1960 painting by Mark Rothko 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.^[30]

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. The New Jersey house was dismantled and relocated to Bentonville.^[31][32]

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^[33]
• George Washington by Charles Willson Peale, purchased 18 May 2004 for $6.1675 million^[34]
• Robert Louis Stevenson and his wife by John Singer Sargent, purchased 19 May 2004 for $8.8 million^[35]
• Orca Bates by Jamie Wyeth, purchased 19 May 2004 for $360,000.^[36]
• Portrait of Anne Page by Dennis Miller Bunker, purchased 1 December 2004 for $3.592 million^[37]
• A French Music Hall by Everett Shinn, purchased 1 December 2004 for $7.848 million^[38]
• The Indian and the Lily by George de Forest Brush, purchased 1 December 2004 for $4.824 million^[39]
• The Studio by George Bellows, purchased 1 December 2004 for $2.472 million^[40]
• Spring by Winslow Homer, purchased 1 December 2004 for $2.024 million^[41]
• Ottoe Half Chief, Husband of Eagle of Delight by Charles Bird King, purchased 1 December 2004 for $1.352 million^[42]
• Wai-Kee-Chai, Sanky Chief, Crouching Eagle by Charles Bird King, purchased 1 December 2004 for $792,000^[43]
• Portrait of Carolus Duran by John Singer Sargent, purchased 2 December 2004 for $724,300^[44]
• Sick Puppy by Norman Rockwell, purchased 2 December 2004 for $511,500^[45][46]
• George Washington (The Constable-Hamilton Portrait) by Gilbert Stuart, purchased 30 November 2005 for $8.136 million^[47]
• Mrs. Theodore Atkinson, Jr. by John Singleton Copley, purchased 30 November 2005 for $3.376 million^[48]
• Marquis de Lafayette by Samuel F. B. Morse, purchased 30 November 2005 for $1.36 million^[49]
• Winter Scene in Brooklyn by Francis Guy, purchased 30 November 2005 for $1.024 million^[50]
• Rose Garden by Maria Oakey Dewing, purchased 24 May 2006 for $2.032 million^[51]
• The Lantern Bearers by Maxfield Parrish, purchased 25 May 2006 for $4.272 million^[52]
• Dr. William Smith by Gilbert Stuart, purchased 23 May 2007 for $1.888 million^[53]
• Still Life with Stretcher, Mirror, Bowl of Fruit by Roy Lichtenstein, purchased 20 June 2007 for £4.052 million (US$8.055 million – based on 20 June 2007 exchange rates)^[54]
• Homage to the Square: Joy by Josef Albers, purchased 14 November 2007 for $1.497 million^[55]
• View of Mount Etna by Thomas Cole, purchased 29 November 2007 for $541,000^[56]
• Cupid and Psyche by Benjamin West, purchased 28 January 2009 for $458,500^[57]
• Our Town by Kerry James Marshall, purchased 13 May 2009 for $782,500^[58]
• Supine Woman by Wayne Thiebaud, purchased 12 November 2009 for $1.818 million^[59]
• Portrait of a Girl and Her Dog in a Grape Arbor by Susan Catherine Moore Waters purchased 7 March 2010 for $41,475^[60]
• Portrait of Martha Graham by Marisol Escobar, purchased 13 May 2010 for $116,500^[61]
• Dolly Parton by Andy Warhol, purchased 14 May 2010 for $914,500^[62]
• Standing Explosion (Red) by Roy Lichtenstein, purchased 14 May 2010 for $722,500^[63]
• The Return of the Gleaner by Winslow Homer, purchased 19 May 2010 for $2.2105 million^[64]
• Trinity by Adolph Gottlieb, purchased 11 May 2011 for $1.1425 million^[65][66]
• Hammer and Sickle by Andy Warhol, purchase 13 November 2012 for $3.4425 million^[67][68]
• Untitled, 1989 (Bernstein 89 24) by Donald Judd, purchased 14 November 2012 for $10.1625 million^[68][69]
• Blackwell's Island by Edward Hopper, purchased 23 May 2013 for $19.1638 million^[70]
• Coca-Cola [3] by Andy Warhol, purchased 12 November 2013 for $57.3 million^[71]
• Flag by Jasper Johns, purchased 11 November 2014 for $36.005 million^[72]
• No. 210/211 (Orange) by Mark Rothko, purchased 11 November 2014 for $44.965 million ^{[citation needed]}
• Jimson Weed/White Flower No. 1 by Georgia O'Keeffe, purchased 20 November 2014 for $44.405 million^[73][74]
• Miss Liberty by Robert Colescott, purchased on 17 February 2023 for $4.5 million^[75]

Selected works in the museum collection by chronological order

•  
  Portrait of George Washington (The Constable-Hamilton Portrait, 1797) by Gilbert Stuart
•  
  Cupid and Psyche (1808) by Benjamin West
•  
  The Village Politicians (c. 1819) by John Lewis Krimmel
•  
  Winter Scene in Brooklyn (c.1817-1820) by Francis Guy
•  
  Samuel Beals Thomas, with His Wife, Sarah Kellogg Thomas, and Their Two Daughters, Abigail and Pauline (1830) by Edward Dalton Marchant
•  
  View of Mount Etna (1843–44) by Thomas Cole
•  
  War News from Mexico (1848) by Richard Caton Woodville
•  
  The Good Shepherd (1848) by Thomas Cole
•  
  Kindred Spirits (1849) by Asher B. Durand
•  
  Portrait of Professor Benjamin Rand (1874) by Thomas Eakins
•  
  The Reader (1877) by Mary Cassatt
•  
  Indian Encampment, Late Afternoon (1878) by Albert Bierstadt
•  
  Robert Louis Stevenson and His Wife (1885) by John Singer Sargent
•  
  The Art Student: Portrait of James Wright (circa 1890) by Thomas Eakins
•  
  World's Columbian Exposition (1894) by Theodore Robinson
•  
  The Lantern Bearers (1908) by Maxfield Parrish
•  
  Excavation at Night (1908) by George Bellows

References

1. Christopher Spencer (18 November 2010), , archived from the original on 29 June 2011
2. "SoilWeb: An Online Soil Survey Browser | California Soil Resource Lab".
3. . Crystalbridges.org. Archived from the original on 18 May 2021. Retrieved 21 July 2016.
4. "Top Ten Most Expensive Projects Worth $369.5 Million". The Northwest Arkansas Morning News. 1 January 2006.^{[dead link]}
5. Making change at WalMart 21 November 2008 at the Wayback Machine
6. Denham, Jemima. "The Richest Woman In America 2023". Forbes. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
7. Carol Vogel (14 May 2005). "A Determined Heiress Plots An Art Collection". The New York Times.
8. Jan Cottingham (12 July 2010), "Crystal Bridges Collection Turns Toward The Modern", Arkansas Business
9. Carol Vogel (16 June 2011). "A Billionaire's Eye for Art Shapes Her Singular Museum". The New York Times.
10. Evie Blad (8 March 2010). "Taxes lost on museum unclear Crystal Bridges exemptions will pay off, officials say". Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (Little Rock).
11. "Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art – Page 12 – Northwest Arkansas". UrbanPlanet.org. Retrieved 21 July 2016.
12. Randy Kennedy (17 August 2009). "Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Arkansas Names a New Director". The New York Times.
13. Press release, "Robert G. Workman named Executive Director" 12 February 2006 at the Wayback Machine, 2 February 2006
14. Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art Announces Endowment Gifts from Walton Family Foundation retrieved 2 July 2011 12 October 2011 at the Wayback Machine
15. Roberts, Andrea Suozzo, Ken Schwencke, Mike Tigas, Sisi Wei, Alec Glassford, Brandon (9 May 2013). "Crystal Bridges Museum Of American Art Inc, Full Filing - Nonprofit Explorer". ProPublica. Retrieved 28 July 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
16. Vogel, Carol (24 April 2008), "Philadelphia Raises Enough Money to Retain a Masterpiece by Eakins", The New York Times, retrieved 20 September 2010
17. Vogel, Carol (12 April 2007), "Philadelphia School Sells a Second Eakins", The New York Times, retrieved 24 September 2010
18. Vogel, Carol (2 October 2007), "A Southern College to Sell Prized Paintings", The New York Times, retrieved 25 September 2010
19. "CultureGrrl | Fisk Continues Legal Quest to Share Collection, for $30 Million, with Crystal Bridges". Artsjournal.com. 5 April 2010. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
20. Kennedy, Randy (11 October 2010), "Fisk University in New Bid to Gain Approval to Sell Art", The New York Times, retrieved 12 October 2010
21. Pogrebin, Robin (3 August 2012), "Legal Battle Over Fisk University Art Collection Ends", The New York Times, retrieved 5 August 2012
22. "CultureGrrl | News Flash: Court Order to Send Fisk's Stieglitz Collection to Crystal Bridges in Fall 2013". Artsjournal.com. 2 August 2012. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
23. Allyn, Bobby (4 August 2012), Fisk finalizes deal to sell half-stake of Alfred Stieglitz collection in end to long fight, half-stake sold to Arkansas museum, The Tennessean, retrieved 5 August 2012
24. "Introducing the Momentary". Walton Family Foundation. 31 January 2017. Retrieved 25 January 2020.
25. Mead, Rebecca (27 June 2011), "Alice's Wonderland: A Walmart heiress build a museum in the Ozarks", The New Yorker
26. "American Stories: Paintings of Everyday Life, 1765–1915 – MetPublications – The Metropolitan Museum of Art". Retrieved 31 July 2016.
27. "Now at the Met: Crystal Bridges-Owned Painting Sold in 1994 by the National Academy". 12 October 2009. Retrieved 31 July 2016.
28. "CultureGrrl | Now at the Met: Crystal Bridges-Owned Painting Sold in 1994 by the National Academy". Artsjournal.com. 12 October 2009. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
29. Vogel, Carol (14 May 2005), "A Determined Heiress Plots an Art Collection", The New York Times, retrieved 25 September 2010
30. Dobrzynski, Judith H. (22 September 2012), "A Rothko Fills a Museum's Breach", The Wall Street Journal, retrieved 27 September 2012
31. . cyrstalbridges.org. Archived from the original on 19 July 2014. Retrieved 23 July 2014.
32. "Bachman Wilson House". tarantinostudio.com. Retrieved 23 July 2014.
33. "Thomas Moran (1837–1926) | Green River, Wyoming | Christie's". Christies.com. 5 December 2002. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
34. "Charles Willson Peale (1741–1827) | George Washington | Christie's". Christies.com. 18 May 2004. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
35. . Archived from the original on 7 August 2016. Retrieved 31 July 2016.
36. . Sothebys.com. Archived from the original on 7 August 2016. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
37. . Archived from the original on 7 August 2016. Retrieved 31 July 2016.
38. . Archived from the original on 7 August 2016. Retrieved 31 July 2016.
39. . Archived from the original on 7 August 2016. Retrieved 31 July 2016.
40. . Archived from the original on 7 August 2016. Retrieved 31 July 2016.
41. . Archived from the original on 7 August 2016. Retrieved 31 July 2016.
42. . Archived from the original on 7 August 2016. Retrieved 31 July 2016.
43. . Archived from the original on 6 August 2016. Retrieved 31 July 2016.
44. "John Singer Sargent (1856–1925) | Portrait of Carolus Duran | Christie's". Christies.com. 2 December 2004. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
45. "Norman Rockwell (1894–1978) | Sick Puppy | Christie's". Christies.com. 2 December 2004. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
46. Parker, Suzi (11 July 2010), Galleries – Discount shopping and fine art? Suzi Parker on the latest offer from Wal-Mart, newstatesman.com, retrieved 6 December 2010
47. . Archived from the original on 7 August 2016. Retrieved 31 July 2016.
48. . Archived from the original on 7 August 2016. Retrieved 31 July 2016.
49. . Archived from the original on 7 August 2016. Retrieved 31 July 2016.
50. . Archived from the original on 7 August 2016. Retrieved 31 July 2016.
51. Carter B. Horsley. "Art/Auctions: American Paintings, Drawings & Sculpture auction at Sotheby's May 24, 2006". Thecityreview.com. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
52. Christie?s. "Maxfield Parrish (1870–1966) -The Lantern Bearers". Retrieved 30 July 2016.
53. . Archived from the original on 7 August 2016. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
54. Christie?s. "Roy Lichtenstein (1923–1997) -Still Life with Stretcher, Mirror, Bowl of Fruit". Retrieved 30 July 2016.
55. . Archived from the original on 7 August 2016. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
56. Christie?s. "Thomas Cole (1801–1848) -View of Mount Etna". Retrieved 30 July 2016.
57. Christie?s. "Benjamin West, P.R.A. Swarthmore, PA 1738–1820 London -Cupid and Psyche". Retrieved 30 July 2016.
58. Christie?s. "Kerry James Marshall (b. 1955) -Our Town". Retrieved 30 July 2016.
59. . Archived from the original on 7 August 2016. Retrieved 31 July 2016.
60. "Sold at auction Susan Catherine Moore Waters (American, 1823-1900) Portrait of a Girl and Her Dog in a Grape Arbor. Auction Number 2494 Lot Number 107 | Skinner Auctioneers".
61. . Archived from the original on 7 August 2016. Retrieved 31 July 2016.
62. . Archived from the original on 7 August 2016. Retrieved 31 July 2016.
63. Christie?s. "Roy Lichtenstein (1923–1997) -Standing Explosion (Red)". Retrieved 30 July 2016.
64. . Archived from the original on 7 August 2016. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
65. . Archived from the original on 7 August 2016. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
66. Peacock, Leslie Newell (17 June 2011), "Eyes Candy", The Arkansas Times, retrieved 20 June 2011
67. . Archived from the original on 7 August 2016. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
68. Dobrzynski, Judith H. (21 March 2013), "Crystal Bridges answers criticism with post-war acquisitions", The Art Newspaper, retrieved 26 March 2013
69. Christie?s. "Donald Judd (1928–1994) -Untitled, 1989 (Bernstein 89-24)". Retrieved 30 July 2016.
70. "Edward Hopper (1882-1967)".
71. Christie?s. "Andy Warhol (1928–1987) -Coca-Cola [3]". Retrieved 30 July 2016.
72. . Archived from the original on 1 July 2016. Retrieved 31 July 2016.
73. . Archived from the original on 19 April 2016. Retrieved 31 July 2016.
74. . Archived from the original on 7 August 2016. Retrieved 31 July 2016.
75. "Crystal Bridges Museum acquires $4.5m Robert Colescott painting at Bonhams auction". The Art Newspaper - International art news and events. 20 February 2023. Retrieved 21 February 2023.

External links

• Official website
• Architectural Record, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Safdie Architects, commentary, slide show, and drawings, January 2012
• , photos, 21 November 2011
• 'A Billionaire’s Eye for Art Shapes Her Singular Museum', Carol Vogel, The New York Times, 16 June 2011
• American Art Artnews 1/12/2012
• Virtual tour of the Crystal Bridges Museum provided by Google Arts & Culture
•   Media related to Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art at Wikimedia Commons