Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art to Open Program and Exhibit Facility
March 1, 2007 – 4:34 am
Temporary space will be located in downtown Bentonville
BENTONVILLE, Ark., March 1, 2007 – Although the opening of Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art is still several years away, the community will soon have a glimpse of what’s to come from the world class art institution. Crystal Bridges will open a program and exhibit space this summer in the historic Massey Building located just off the square in downtown Bentonville.
The facility will officially open on Saturday, June 16, as a part of ArtWalk, Bentonville’s downtown celebration of the arts in Northwest Arkansas. Located on the first floor of the Massey Building, the new facility will feature space for exhibits about Crystal Bridges as well as public programs developed and presented by the museum staff and volunteers during the construction of the new museum project.
“We are very excited to offer a temporary facility for exhibits and educational programming now,” said Bob Workman, Crystal Bridges executive director. “We have had so many requests for information about Crystal Bridges, and people are eager to learn more about American Art, specifically the masterworks in our collection that we have already announced.”
The new facility will feature two exhibit spaces and a large meeting room.
- One exhibit space will present updated information about the construction of CrystalBridges. With models, renderings and photographs, visitors will be able to follow the progress of this major and complicated building project.
- A second exhibit space will incorporate a gallery of approximately 900 square feet exhibits will be displayed that feature aspects of anticipated educational programs and the permanent collection of Crystal Bridges. According to Workman, some exhibits may result from local school collaborations, while others may take a work in the collection of the museum and place it in its historical or art historical context. Planned exhibits will be announced at the opening of the space in June.
- In addition, the new facility will feature a large meeting room for more formal educational activities such as workshops for students, teacher in-service programs, public talks and other programs.
Other areas will house the museum’s growing office and research needs.
The new facility will be located in the space previously occupied by the Bentonville Public Library. Visitors will enter through the lobby as they did when visiting the library. A.O. Clark designed the Massey Building on the original site of the 1840 Eagle Hotel. The building has housed hotel guests, a train ticket station, radio station, barber shop, gift shop, and most recently the public library.
About Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art
Founded by Alice Walton, Crystal Bridges is envisioned as a premier national art institution dedicated to American art and artists. Under construction in Bentonville, Ark., 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, gallery rooms suitable for large receptions, as well as sculpture gardens and walking trails.
The museum 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 by American artists from the Colonial period through the modern era and will consist of notable examples reflecting the richness and diversity of the American experience. Some announced works of the permanent collection include: Hudson River School masterwork Kindred Spirits by Asher B. Durand; Charles Willson Peale’s 18th century painting of George Washington; Gilbert Stuart’s George Washington (The Constable-Hamilton Portrait), which is currently on loan at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; Spring, by Winslow Homer; Martin Johnson Heade’s Cattleya Orchid, Two Hummingbirds and a Beetle; and Marsden Hartley’s Hall of the Mountain King. In addition to the permanent collection, temporary exhibitions drawn from national institutions will be displayed in the museum.
The museum takes its name from a natural spring on the museum’s wooded site as well as the unique glass-and-wood building design created by world-renowned architect Moshe Safdie. An innovative building design – reflective of its forested creek-side home, and linked by landscaped trails and paths connecting area neighborhoods – will capture the interplay of nature, art and culture in the region. The museum property and grounds are within walking distance of the Bentonville town square.
The 100-acre site of the museum complex and cultural center is located in Bentonville, Ark. The project is scheduled to open in 2009. For more information about Crystal Bridges, visit www.crystalbridges.org.
