More about Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art
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Look out, America. Bentonville, Arkansas is now a part of the cultural elite. And it’s all thanks to Walmart.
Crystal Bridges Museum was founded by Alice Walton, the daughter of Sam Walton—infamous founder of Walmart. On the museum’s board of directors sit folks as prestigious as John Tyson (chairman of Tyson Foods) and C. Douglas McMillon (president and chief executive of Walmart International). So yeah, it’s kinda gotta corporate vibe going for it.
Crystal Bridges is still a spry young chicken as far as museums go, only having opened in 2011. Its permanent collection features American art from colonial to contemporary, and is the first major museum in 50 years dedicated to such a broad range of American art. Artists include Charles Willson Peale, Thomas Eakins, George Bellows, and Jasper Johns, to name just a few. Walton first acquired much of the museum’s art by playing the role of mysterious, anonymous buyer at fancy-pants art auctions, slowly collecting not simply the “greatest hits” but many works in depth of each artist she likes.
Fun fact—Crystal Bridges first opened its doors on 11/11/11. Bonus: admission is free to the public! Thanks, Walmart. Truth be told, there’s really nothing not to like about this place.
Sources
Sources
- Crystal Bridges Museum Editors. “Crystal Bridges.” https://crystalbridges.org. Accessed December 30, 2017. https://crystalbridges.org/
- Crystal Bridges Museum Editors. “Eleven.” https://crystalbridges.org. Accessed December 30, 2017. https://crystalbridges.org/Eleven.
- Vogel, Carol, “A Billionaire’s Eye for Art Shapes Her Singular Museum.” http://www.nytimes.com. Accessed December 30, 2017. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/17/arts/design/alice-walton-on-her-cryst…
- Wikipedia Editors, “Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art,” https://en.wikipedia.org. Accessed December 30, 2017. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crystal_Bridges_Museum_of_American_Art
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Here is what Wikipedia says about 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.
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