Crystal Bridges Art Museum

I'm getting so excited about Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art opening in Bentonville--in 2010! A few weeks ago, after a Junior League meeting which was held at Crystal Bridges at the Massey, I got the opportunity to hear more about the museum from our instructor that night, which just happened to be Sandy Edwards, Associate Director for the museum.

We got to see the architect's scale model of the grounds and it will be incredible! (pictured below) The entire campus is being built to look like it has been nestled amongst the natural surroundings forever. All of the parking will be in an underground garage as not to disturb the surrounding beauty. Sandy told us that the permanent collection (which means 3 to 5 years) will consist of 100 to 200 pieces! They are still gathering, but have many lined up to be in the collection. This doesn't even include the traveling exhibitions! I'm just so excited (can you tell?!) to have something of this magnitude in our backyard!


Durand's Kindred Spirits


Taken from the Crystal Bridges website:
Crystal Bridges will house a permanent collection of signature works from American artists along with galleries dedicated to regional art and artists including Native American art. The growing permanent collection is composed of paintings and sculptures from the Colonial period through the modern era. The museum has announced several major works, most of which are currently on loan to other institutions.

Crystal Bridges will be a vibrant, engaging place that offers a variety of activities for visitors. When completed, the museum complex will encompass approximately 100,000 square feet of gallery, library, meeting, and office space, a 250-seat indoor auditorium, areas for outdoor concerts and public events, as well as sculpture gardens and walking trails. In addition to the permanent collection, additional gallery space will be dedicated to regional art and artists including Native American art. Sculpture will also figure prominently in the permanent collection, on view in interior galleries and outdoor gardens. A dynamic temporary exhibitions program will complement the holdings of the permanent collection.

Go to the website for more:
http://www.crystalbridges.org/main.aspx