Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art facts for kids
Panoramic view of the museum
|
|
| Established | 11 November 2011 |
|---|---|
| Location | 600 Museum Way, Bentonville, Arkansas |
| Type | American art |
| Founder | Alice Walton |
| Architect | Moshe Safdie |
| Nearest car park | free garage and surface lot on site |
The Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art is a special place in Bentonville, Arkansas, where you can explore amazing American art. It was started by Alice Walton, whose family founded Walmart. The museum officially opened its doors on November 11, 2011, and guess what? It's completely free to visit! This makes it easy for everyone to enjoy the art.
Contents
About the Museum and Its Beginning
Alice Walton had a big dream: to create a museum dedicated to American art. She worked with the Walton Family Foundation to make it happen. The museum's design is super cool, with glass and wood buildings that look like they're part of nature. Architect Moshe Safdie and engineer Buro Happold designed it. The buildings are spread out around two ponds and surrounded by forest trails.
The museum is huge, covering about 217,000 square feet! Inside, you'll find lots of different areas:
- Art galleries to see paintings and sculptures.
- Spaces for meetings and classrooms where you can learn.
- A library for research.
- An outdoor sculpture garden.
- A museum store where you can find unique gifts.
- A restaurant and coffee bar called "Eleven," named after the opening date.
There are also outdoor spots for concerts and events, plus many nature trails to explore. The museum is a big employer in the area, with about 300 people working there. It's even close enough to walk to from downtown Bentonville!
The Walton Family Foundation has given a very large amount of money to the museum. This money helps pay for daily operations, buying new art, and keeping the museum buildings in great shape. This support helps Crystal Bridges continue to grow its collection and offer free admission to everyone.
Working with Other Museums
Crystal Bridges often works with other museums to share art and create special exhibits. For example, in 2006, they tried to buy a famous painting called The Gross Clinic by Thomas Eakins with the National Gallery of Art. Even though the painting ended up staying in Philadelphia, Crystal Bridges later bought another important Eakins painting, Portrait of Professor Benjamin H. Rand.
The museum also made a special agreement with Fisk University to share a collection of 101 artworks by Alfred Stieglitz. This means that the artworks can be seen at both museums, allowing more people to enjoy them.
Since 2012, Crystal Bridges has been part of an exciting project called "American Encounters." They work with the musée du Louvre in Paris, the High Museum of Art in Atlanta, and the Terra Foundation for American Art. Together, they create exhibitions that travel to all four museums, focusing on different themes each year, like portraits.
The Momentary
In early 2020, Crystal Bridges opened a new place nearby called The Momentary. It's a satellite facility that focuses on modern visual and performing arts. It also hosts cool culinary experiences, festivals, and welcomes artists who live and work there for a time. It's a place for new and exciting art forms!
Amazing Art Collection
The museum's permanent collection is full of American art from different time periods, from the early days of the United States to today. All the artists featured are American citizens. You can see famous paintings by artists like:
- Charles Willson Peale (who painted George Washington)
- Winslow Homer
- Thomas Eakins
- Norman Rockwell
- Georgia O'Keeffe
- Jackson Pollock
- Andy Warhol
One very important painting in the collection is Kindred Spirits by Asher B. Durand, which the museum bought in 2005. They also have a large abstract painting by Mark Rothko called No. 210/No. 211 (Orange).
Besides paintings, there are many sculptures both inside the museum and along the outdoor trails. Some of the sculptors whose work you can see include Roxy Paine and James Turrell.
In 2014, Crystal Bridges even acquired a house designed by the famous architect Frank Lloyd Wright. The house, called the Bachman–Wilson House, was carefully taken apart in New Jersey and rebuilt right here in Bentonville!
The museum has acquired many artworks over the years, often at auctions. Here are some notable purchases:
- Green River, Wyoming by Thomas Moran, purchased in 2002.
- George Washington by Charles Willson Peale, purchased in 2004.
- Kindred Spirits by Asher B. Durand, purchased in 2005.
- Still Life with Stretcher, Mirror, Bowl of Fruit by Roy Lichtenstein, purchased in 2007.
- Blackwell's Island by Edward Hopper, purchased in 2013.
- Coca-Cola [3] by Andy Warhol, purchased in 2013.
- Flag by Jasper Johns, purchased in 2014.
- Jimson Weed/White Flower No. 1 by Georgia O'Keeffe, purchased in 2014.
Selected Works in the Museum Collection
-
Portrait of George Washington (The Constable-Hamilton Portrait, 1797) by Gilbert Stuart
-
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
-large.jpg)
