Friday, June 15, 2012

Crystal Bridges Museum - Part 1

Anita and I were recently in Northwest Arkansas for a few days. We decided to stop by the Crystal Bridges Museum in Bentonville.

When you go to Crystal Bridges you are first struck by how well the grounds are maintained and landscaped. There are flowers everywhere. And bike and walking paths winding through the woods. It was hot the day we were there, so we proceeded on to the museum.

The buildings are absolutely amazing. The architecture is art itself. Because I took so many pictures, I've divided our visit into 3 posts: two containing pictures of the art (click here to visit my second page of art photos) that is on permanent display, and one of the buildings.

The galleries are divided into several sections: colonial to early 19th century, late 19th century, early 20th century, and 20th century, and a temporary exhibit area. You are allowed to take photos (without flash) in all but the temporary exhibit. Entry is free except for the temporary exhibit, which we visited first. The exhibit was titled The Hudson River School: Nature and the American Vision.

The pictures below and in my next post are in no particular order, and represent the paintings Anita and I enjoyed the most. However, the gallery contains over 400 paintings, and they are all really fantastic. It is easy to find yourself there for the day.

I should add one more thing. We found that in a lot of cases, the frames on the paintings were just as amazing as the paintings themselves.

As you enter the museum, the cafe is straight ahead, along with this great sculpture by Claes Oldenburg titled Alphabet/Good Humor (you can see the 'ice cream' dripping in the lower left).


John Singleton Copley's Mrs. Theodore Atkinson, 1765.


Arthur Fitzwilliam Tait's The Life of a Hunter, A Tight Fix, painted in 1856:


George Inness', Sunset on the River, 1867:


William Trost Richards' Along the Shore, 1903. The photo does not do the magic of the waves justice.


Harriet Whitney Frishmuth's The Bubble, 1928:


Frederic Remington's Cowpunchers Lullaby, 1906.


John Mix Stanley's The Buffalo Hunt, 1855:


Alexander Pope's Trophies of the Hunt, 1905:


Francis Guy's Winter Scene in Brooklyn, 1820:


Frederick William MacMonnies' Diana, 1890:


Thomas Moran's Valley of the Catawissa in Autumn, 1862:


The iconic Rosie the Riveter by Norman Rockwell, 1943:


Jasper Francis Cropsey's The Backwoods Of America, 1858:


Asher Brown Durand's Kindred Spirits, 1849:


Martin Johnson Heade's Cattleya Orchid, Two Hummingbirds and a Beetle, 1875-1890.


Henry Kirke Brown's The Choosing of the Arrow, 1849:


Martin Johnson Heade's Gems of Brazil, 1863-1864:





James Earl's Lady Mary Beauclerk, Daughter of Lord Aubrey and Lady Jane Beauclerk, 1793-1794:


John Frederick Peto's Old Companions, 1904:


William Holbrook Beard's School Rules, 1887:


One of Anita's favorites. We picked up a print of this painting from Robert Henri titled Jessica Penn in Black and White Plumes, at the museum store:




1 comment:

Jan Looper Smith said...

Good coverage. Just working on my own slides. We were there last October.

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