Crystal Bridges, Part II

This post continue my lengthy and drawn-out story-telling and many photos about a summer Arkansas adventure, which was first introduced in this post, and further explained in this post.

While neither L nor I knew what to expect from Crystal Bridges, it's safe to say that we were both pleasantly surprised. The museum was well worth the trip, and kept pleasing us at every turn -- even the salted caramel iced latte that I ordered from its coffee bar was a winner. (Seriously, can anyone tell me where I could find such a drink in the DC area?)

There was so much wonderful art to be seen, and I took about a trillion photos, more of which I share with you here. Paintings in particular are difficult to photograph, so these are not truly accurate representations of the colors and textures we saw.

"Hall of the Mountain King" (Marsden Hartley, ca. 1908-1909)

"It's Very Queer, Isn't It?" (James Henry Beard, 1885)

"Interior/Before The Picture" (William Rimmer, 1872)

As a complement to the colors of the fabrics in the above painting, I present for your viewing enjoyment two snapshots of Gabriel Dawe's work "Plexus No. 27." I was excited to spot this piece, as I had loved his gorgeous "Plexus A1 " at the Renwick Gallery late last year (about which I wrote in this post). Now I can confidently say that Dawe is my favorite living artist -- these works are just amazing.

To get very "meta" about all of this art, I will throw in a photo of another work on display at Crystal Bridges -- a work whose colors and linear shapes echos those in Dawe's piece.

"Innate Thought" (Julian Stanczak, 1965)

Two of my favorite pieces in the entire collection were both very bright and colorful.

"Au Cafe (Synchromy)" (Stanton MacDonald-Wright, 1918)

Detail of "Red Flower" (Joseph Stella, 1929)

The building itself was worth photographing!

More to follow! It may be 2017 by the time I wrap up telling you about this trip, but better late than never, right?

Crystal Bridges

To continue my travelogue about friend L's and my trip to Arkansas (which began in this post)...

Given the short duration of our trip, we had a great deal we wanted to pack into a couple of days. The next morning the museum (aka Crystral Bridges Museum of American Art) opened at 10am, and we arrived at 10.15am.

At least one friend had jokingly asked me whether the museum would have greeters as Walmart stores do, and - unsurprisingly - it sure did. The greeter directed us to the admission desk (although there is no admission fee), where we were provided with one brochure that covers the indoor collection, and one that covers the outdoor trails and collection. We asked to make a reservation to visit the Frank Lloyd Wright house, and the earliest time we were offered was 3.15pm -- we looked at one another, shrugged -- yes, after all we traveled hundreds of miles, and then were all set.

Before setting off on our explorations of the collection, we made our way to the basement to use the ladies' room. A space outside the restrooms contained a couch -- and an art film, which we watched, then returned upstairs begin our independent tours. 

Film: "Rainbow Narcosis" (Jonathan Monaghan, 2012)

Walking and each looking at our own pace, we spent a good two hours exploring the permanent collection, which was impressive in its breadth and diversity. In this post and the next, I have included many photos of works which I liked or was somehow touched by or interested in.

"The Ramsay-Polk Family, Maryland" (James Peale Sr., ca. 1793)

The animal on the table is a flying squirrel!

Part of series "Gems of Brazil" by Martin Johnson Heade

"Landscape" (Robert Seldon Duncanson, 1865)

The painting above was very pretty, but did not photograph well, yet I am including it here due to the interesting life story of its artist. As explained by the informative sign next to the work in the museum, "born to Scottish-Canadian father and African-American mother Duncanson established his career in Cincinnati, but left for Canada during the Civil War, searching for a place where racism would not affect his profession as a painter. When Duncanson arrived in Montreal, he was warmly received, and he exhibited his works there to great acclaim." What a shame that talented people are driven from their homelands due to society's narrow mindedness.

"World's Columbian Exposition" (Theodore Robinson, 1864)

One of my favorites! "Under the Willows" (John Singer Sargent, 1887)

"School Rules" (William Holbrook Beard, 1887)

"The Lantern Bearers" (Maxfield Parrish, 1908)

"Raspberries in a Wooded Landscape" (William Mason Brown, ca. 1865-1875)

More to follow!

On the Road to...Arkansas!

In my quest to see something in each of the fifty states, a while back I convinced a friend (who happens to be an artist, as well as Latvian) that we needed to visit Bentonville, Arkansas. Fortunately she agreed, and we quickly planned our trip for the beginning of June. Why did I pick the small city of Bentonville as our destination? Because it is home of the less-than-five-year-old art museum Crystal Bridges, which boasts an impressive collection of American art housed in an interesting new building located on beautiful wooded grounds featuring trails and sculptures. The museum was founded by Alice Walton, daughter of Walmart founder Sam Walton. The Walton Family Foundation has provided a great deal of funding for the museum, which is an independent non-profit organization, while Walmart itself sponsors general public admission -- meaning the museum is free to visit.

My friend L lives in Houston, Texas, and our plans entailed me flying into Dallas while she drove there from Houston. Incredibly fortunately, my flight was on time, my suitcase also arrived, and we were on our way! When I'd left the DC area, the weather had been overcast and gray, but in Dallas I was greeted by blue skies and dense white clouds. There's a saying that everything's bigger in Texas -- and even these clouds looked big!

From the airport we drove north through the eastern side of Oklahoma. The drive lasted approximately 5 1/2 hours, and our way we stopped for a roadside picnic that L had lovingly prepared. 

A well-rounded meal: sandwich, potato salad, mango, tomatoes.

Oklahoma was not the most exciting state to drive through, though the eastern side was not that terrible either (I have heard from people who have driven through the state from West to East or vice versa that such a route is quite dull). The vista was enhanced by a very large man-made body of water called Lake Eufaula, though the terrain was generally quite flat. Thus, arriving into Arkansas was a welcome surprise -- it was hilly and incredibly green.

After checking into our hotel near Bentonville, we drove to the museum with the intention of eating dinner at its restaurant and getting our first glimpse of the collection. Our meal took so long that it was closing time when we were done eating, but we were glad to have visited in the evening, as not only was our dinner memorable, but the museum looked stunning at night.

Photo credit: L.

More posts to follow about our fun trip!