Among museum world developments this year, high on the list of big events is next fall’s opening of the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art (below) in Bentonville, Ark. Everyone wants to see what Alice Walton has produced.
This week, director Don Bacigalupi spilled some of the beans when he addressed about 500 tourism executives at the Arkansas Governor’s Conference in Little Rock. Come Nov. 11, opening day, the museum will apparently be organized around four themes that emerged during the last few years as Walton made her purchases for the collection — which are ongoing.
According to a community paper called The Citywire of the Fort Smith Region, the museum’s treasures — works that range from the colonial era to contemporary works will be arranged — to illustrate four themes.
This will not be, it seems, a traditional chronological installation. Crystal Bridges will cover these themes:
- The Artist and Nature: Asher B. Durand’s Kindred Spirits will go here, and — let’s admit it — this is a natural for American art.
- The Artist Innovator: true enough, sometimes — artists are sometimes at the forefront of change. Bacigalupi said that Thomas Eakins’s Professor Benjamin Howard Rand and Devorah Sperber’s After the Last Supper fit in here.
- Women in Art: Fascinating. Walton seems to want to acknowledge that art by women has been underappreciated, and that women are often the subject of art. Norman Rockwell’s Rosie the Riveter will be here, plus glass clothing art by Karen LaMonte.
- American Artist on the Global Stage: This section can be robust, and will include Benjamin West’s Cupid and Psyche (above).
Some people, I imagine, will be upset by this organizational structure. Walton has already been the butt of criticism for spending too freely — undeserved, in my opinion. I think it’s great that she is bring great art to an underserved region of the country. With this installation, she’ll seem to be going outside the lines again.
I am reserving judgment on it. Most of the time, when I have seen themed installations, they haven’t worked well. But, in fairness, it’s sometimes the conception of the themes or the less-than-robust collection of works supporting the themes that are at fault. With her resources, Walton shouldn’t have to contend with the latter issue, at least.
Photo Credits: Courtesy of the Crystal Bridges Museum