Museum announces June 6 and 7, 2026 grand opening, with fully reimagined galleries and gifts of art amplifying signature stories of the American spirit
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BENTONVILLE, Ark. — Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art today announced the donations of two landmark gifts of art that will help transform its signature storytelling about the American spirit. Olivia Walton, Chairperson of Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, and her husband Tom Walton have donated 18 major works, all by women artists, including Yayoi Kusama, Alice Neel, and Njideka Akunyili Crosby. Collectors Candace and Michael Humphreys have given 200 extraordinary artworks by over 100 artists that span eras and artistic disciplines and introduce new artists to the museum’s holdings.
Both gifts of art have been donated in celebration of an expansion project that is increasing the museum in size by 50 percent and providing a fully reimagined core gallery experience. The museum announced that the grand opening of the expanded museum will be held on June 6 and 7, 2026.
The 114,000-square-foot expansion by Safdie Architects, the world-renowned designers of the original 200,000-square-foot building, accommodates the public’s overwhelming response to Crystal Bridges since its opening in 2011 while amplifying the museum’s ability to provide surprise, delight, joyful learning, and an all-embracing range of American stories told through art. While remaining open to the public throughout the construction period, Crystal Bridges is reinstalling nearly every gallery, including an all-new core experience that takes visitors on a thematic journey through American life, landscape, and spirit. Both the Walton and Humphreys gifts will feature prominently in the expanded Crystal Bridges, within the new contemporary art gallery as well as in rotating displays, thematic installations, and interdisciplinary programs.
Alice Walton, Founder of Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, said, “This announcement marks an historic day for Crystal Bridges and the entire campus, where art, architecture, nature, education, and wellness now come together to inspire people, enhance their well-being, and build a greater understanding of the American experience. Next June, we will recognize how Safdie Architects’ vision helps us welcome all and provides a fitting home for the generous gifts of art from Olivia, Tom, Candace, and Michael.”
Growing the Museum’s Collection with Landmark Gifts
Olivia and Tom Walton’s gift has been donated in memory of Olivia’s mother Monique Knowlton, a celebrated New York gallerist who was well known for her support of women artists. Of the 18 works in the gift, 13 are by artists who are new to the Crystal Bridges collection. Knowlton personally showed three of them in her gallery: Betye Saar, Elaine Reichek, and Helen Oji. Other artists and works reflect Olivia Walton’s collecting journey and the resonance of her mother’s influence. These include Yayoi Kusama’s beloved, large-scale Narcissus Garden (1966), which has been on long-term loan to Crystal Bridges since 2020. Olivia has cited the impact of the Guerrilla Girls, whose campaigns against gender inequity in the art world resonated with her mother’s experience as a gallerist. Themes of femininity and selfhood are a central undercurrent in the gift, in works such as Hannah Wilke’s Self-Portrait (BC Series) (1990), together with self-portraits by Loie Hollowell and Maria Berrio, which exemplify the ways artists have used their own image to assert identity and resilience across generations.
Among the additional highlights of the Walton’s gift is Njideka Akunyili Crosby’s Mama, Mummy and Mamma (Predecessors #2) (2014), a layered composition in acrylic, colored pencil, charcoal, and photo transfers. The painting’s title underscores the work’s exploration of lineage, identity, and maternal figures across cultures and geographies, reflecting interwoven personal and collective histories.
The Humphreys’ gift of art to Crystal Bridges is the largest since the museum’s founding and is accompanied by a generous financial contribution to support future acquisitions. The gift features important works by artists such as Mary Cassatt, Barkley Hendricks, and Alex Katz, and includes works by artists that have seldom been exhibited publicly, among them Beverly Buchanan, Flo Perkins, and David Wiseman. Artists included in the gift who have not previously been represented at Crystal Bridges include Robert Arneson, Robert Bechtle, Edward Ruscha, Kiki Smith, and Do Ho Suh. The gift also includes the first two quilts to enter the museum’s collection: Work – Clothes Strips and Pant Legs” Gee’s Bend Quilt by Loretta P. Bennett and 19th Century Applique Quilt (1860) by Mary E. Harris.
Olivia Walton said “Through their extraordinary generosity, Candace and Michael Humphreys have broadened and deepened the stories of America that we tell at our museum, and that have established Crystal Bridges as a leading destination for major collections of American art. It’s thrilling to receive such a landmark gift at this pivotal moment in our history. It’s also personally moving, as I reflect on my mother’s trailblazing contributions to broadening our understanding of American art and artists. Tom and I are honored to make this gift in her memory. These works reflect my mom’s spirit and influence, enriching the Crystal Bridges collection while continuing her legacy of opening doors for artists and inspiring future generations.”
Based in Dallas, the Humphreys have assembled a deeply personal and adventurous collection that reflects a passion for visual beauty, artistic innovation and American culture. Candace, an honorary advisor and past member of the Collections Committee at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and Michael, a retired venture capitalist and past member of the Painting and Sculpture Committee at the Whitney Museum of American Art, have approached collecting with a distinctive vision that spans eras, traditions, and artistic mediums. In recognition of their generosity, a space within the Foundations of American Art installation at the museum will be named the Candace P. and W. Michael Humphreys Gallery.
In a joint statement, Candace and Michael Humphreys said, “We are proud that these works we’ve cherished will engage, challenge, and inspire audiences at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, now and far into the future. It is an honor to support the museum’s vital mission during this exciting period of its evolution.”
The Humphreys Collection encompasses paintings, photography, indoor and outdoor sculptures, textiles, ceramics, glass, prints, and silver. Among the artists represented in the gift, in addition to those mentioned above, are Ralph Bacerra, Julie Buffalohead, Marisol Escobar, Nicholas Galanin, Theaster Gates, William H. Johnson, Jacob Lawrence, Roy Lichtenstein, Robert Mapplethorpe, Richard Marquis, Josiah McElheny, Judy Kensley McKie, Laura McPhee, Ivań Navarro, Alice Neel, Robert Rauschenberg, Cindy Sherman, Tseng Kwon Chi, and Andy Warhol.
Gifts of sculpture from the Humphreys Collection will be integrated throughout the museum’s galleries and grounds, which will animate the museum’s 134 acres of trails and gardens. These works include Tom’s Carousel (2016), a full-size carousel with seven whimsical bronze figures by Tom Otterness; Claus Oldenberg and Coosje Van Bruggen’s Floating Peel (2002); Juane Quick-To-See Smith’s Making Medicine: Coyote (Going Forward, Looking Back) (2024-2025); and Wendell Castle’s Wandering Mountain (2014).
Select works from the Humphreys Collection currently are on view in the transformed Foundations of American Art galleries. Highlights include Portrait of Katharine Kelso Cassatt (ca. 1888) by Mary Cassatt, Sharecropper (1952), a color linocut by Elizabeth Catlett, Large Snail (ca. 1940) by Beniamino Bufano, an earthenware bowl and plates by Maria Martinez and Nocturne Radio, and Model 1186 (ca. 1930s) by Walter Dorwin Teague.
Expanding the Museum’s focus on Art, Architecture, and Nature
When Crystal Bridges opened in 2011, its holdings largely reflected the early collecting of the museum’s founder, Alice Walton. Today, works added to the collection through gifts and acquisitions represent a full range of American stories. With the expansion, the percentage of works on view and the audiences they engage will grow substantially, both in the galleries and in the building’s spacious new centers for education and community. The design introduces additional classrooms to support outreach programs, flexible galleries with bespoke skylight systems that safely bring natural light into the space, and transitional lounges that connect visitors to the surrounding Ozark landscape. Timber framing, extended rooflines, and porches reinforce a sense of regional identity while ensuring the architecture remains deeply rooted in place.
“At Crystal Bridges we set out to merge art and nature. We could not be more delighted to see how the museum, its collection and the surrounding landscape have grown together to create what has been described as a happy building,” said Moshe Safdie, founding partner of Safdie Architects. “With the addition of diverse galleries, workshops, and gardens, the expansion exponentially expands the museum’s mission of serving as a centerpiece of communal and cultural life.”
Rod Bigelow, Executive Director of Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, said, “Alice Walton founded this museum with the goal of making great American art more accessible to people in our region and beyond. Now, under Olivia Walton’s next-generation leadership, this vision has continued to exceed all expectations. With immense gratitude toward Alice, Olivia and Tom, Moshe Safdie and his team, and Candace and Michael Humphreys, we’re looking forward to welcoming everyone, near and far, to an even more ample, encompassing, and meaningful experience on our inspiring campus.”
Evolving the Crystal Bridges Campus through Art and Wellness
The 134-acre Crystal Bridges Campus features the new Heartland Whole Health Institute, an 85,000-square-foot structure designed by Marlon Blackwell Architects, and the new Alice L. Walton School of Medicine (AWSOM), a 154,000-square-foot state-of-the-art medical education facility designed by Polk Stanley Wilcox Architects. Both buildings incorporate interior and outdoor spaces for the display of art from the Crystal Bridges and Art Bridges Foundation collections.
Together with the expanded museum, these institutions establish a creative dialogue with one another and with the surrounding Ozarks landscape, offering the public a range of entry points for engaging with art, nature, architecture, education, wellness, and each other. More than five miles of trails featuring outdoor sculpture installations connect the iconic buildings, through a terrain that varies from Ozark forest to display gardens and includes streams, ponds, and the waters of Crystal Springs. The Momentary, an extension of Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, is located one mile south of the campus in downtown Bentonville.
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About Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art
The mission of Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art is to welcome all to celebrate the American spirit in a setting that unites the power of art with the beauty of nature. Since opening in 2011, the museum has welcomed more than 14 million visitors across its spaces, with no cost for admission. Crystal Bridges was founded in 2005 as a non-profit charitable organization by arts patron and philanthropist, Alice Walton. The collection spans five centuries of American masterworks from early American to current day and is enhanced by temporary exhibitions. The museum is nestled on 134 acres of Ozark landscape and was designed by world-renowned architect Moshe Safdie. A rare Frank Lloyd Wright-designed house was preserved and relocated to the museum grounds in 2015. Home of the prestigious Don Tyson Prize for the Advancement of American Art and Tyson Scholars of American Art Program, Crystal Bridges offers public programs including lectures, performances, classes, and teacher development opportunities. Some 478,375 school children have participated in the Willard and Pat Walker School Visit program, which provides educational experiences for school groups at no cost to the schools. Additional museum amenities include a restaurant, gift store, library, and five miles of art and walking trails. In February 2020, the museum opened the Momentary in Downtown Bentonville (507 SE E Street), conceived as a platform for the art, food, and music of our time. In 2026, Crystal Bridges will complete a 114,000 square foot expansion that will allow the museum to expand access for all. For more information, visit CrystalBridges.org. The museum is located at 600 Museum Way, Bentonville, Arkansas 72712.
Image Captions/Credits (Top to bottom):
- Aerial view of Construction of Crystal Bridges Museum of Art Expansion. Photography by Edward C. Robison III, courtesy of Crystal Bridges Museum of Art.
- Njideka Akunyili Crosby, Mama, Mummy and Mamma (Predecessors #2), 2014, Acrylic, color pencils, charcoal, and transfers on paper, Framed: 88 3/8 × 109 3/8 × 2 3/8 in. Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, Arkansas, Gift of Olivia and Tom Walton in honor of Monique Knowlton, 2025.41
- Iván Navarro, Death Row, 2006. Neon light, aluminum doors, mirror, one-way mirror, and electric energy. 86 1/2 in. × 50ft. × 4 1/2 in.13 doors, each: 86 1/2 × 39 1/2 × 4 1/2 in. Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, Arkansas, Gift from the collection of Candace P. and W. Michael Humphreys, 2024.105. Photography by Emily Followill.
- Tom Otterness, Carousel, 2017. Seven bronze sculptures, canopy, and mast. Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, Arkansas, Gift from the collection of Candace P.and W. Michael Humphreys, 2024.107. Photography by Emily Followill.
- Yayoi Kusama, Narcissus Garden, 1966, Stainless steel spheres, Each sphere 11.8 in. diameter. Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, Arkansas, Gift of Olivia and Tom Walton in honor of Monique Knowlton, 2025.42. Photo by Stephen Ironside / Ironside Photography.
- Exterior view of building with Ugo Rondinone’s The Melancholic, 2015 in the foreground at right. Photography by Timothy Hursley, courtesy of Alice L. Walton School of Medicine. Artwork: Ugo Rondinone (b. 1964), The Melancholic, 2015, bluestone, concrete, and steel, 393 3/4 x 133 x 90 1/8 in. Art Bridges.
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