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Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art


Mith242

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Wow. (Front page headline in todays BCR/ADG...no further comment necessary.)

And from the Morning News:

Walton and a few other guest speakers discussed the cultural and economic impact of the Crystal Bridges museum and how it will draw visitors from the U.S. and the world.

Some people might question the placement of such a museum in Arkansas, Walton said during the dedication, but that's because "They don't have a sense of place. It's hard for them to understand why some of the greatest masterpieces will be brought here and why we should have it here."

Walton mentioned several reasons, including the "unsurpassed natural beauty" of the region and the quality of life that encourages further economic and cultural expansion.

Crystal Bridges will be a "big selling point" for the region and Arkansas, said Joe David Rice, director of the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism, who attended the event.

"It will be the best mecca between Denver and Atlanta," Rice said. "What will be really great is letting people see a whole new side of Arkansas."

and;

A museum of Crystal Bridges' caliber provides a reason for people to stay in or move to Arkansas, said Bill Ramsey, Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce president.

"In the past, in my day, folks had to leave Northwest Arkansas" to make a living and find amenities that met their quality of life expectations, said Ramsey, 72.

Amenities such as an art museum will encourage people, especially those thinking of moving from a metropolitan area, to consider Arkansas as a place to call home, he said.

http://www.nwaonline.net/articles/2007/05/...stalbridges.txt

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I have to agree that as I get older and get more yuppyish or urban, amenities start making a difference about quality of life of a region. However, I wonder how much it really does except to attract similar people of "taste" and "upper sensibilities" which doesn't necessarily provide any real depth of character or personal/community growth. I think I"m getting a little too introspective lately, but I'm sure I wouldn't visit the place but once or when I have people visit from "their urban area".

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I don't expect this museum to make up for the lack of many amenities and attractions people in more urban, bigger cities are going to look for when they decide to move to a rural metro. There's much more to quality of life than museums, although for some they [museums] are important. Some may only be looking for this musem and a few decent golf courses to make their decision. Crystal Bridges will be a nice addition to what I consider a limited amenity/attraction market. Nothing more, nothing less.

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I don't expect this museum to make up for the lack of many amenities and attractions people in more urban, bigger cities are going to look for when they decide to move to a rural metro. There's much more to quality of life than museums, although for some they [museums] are important. Some may only be looking for this musem and a few decent golf courses to make their decision. Crystal Bridges will be a nice addition to what I consider a limited amenity/attraction market. Nothing more, nothing less.

Unless, of course, it helps inspire other amenities.

Then again, I've heard some say in so many words that at this point northwest Arkansas itself is an ultimate amenity, but that may be changing as well.

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Unless, of course, it helps inspire other amenities.

Then again, I've heard some say in so many words that at this point northwest Arkansas itself is an ultimate amenity, but that may be changing as well.

Keep in mind that Crystal Bridges is a personal project by Alice Walton and not a publicly funded project. Crystal Bridges wouldn't even be a thought if it wasn't being fully funded by a billionaire. So, it might inspire other billionaires to build amanities in NWA, but I wouldn't get my hopes up of that happening. The new ballpark in Springdale may be the only publicly funded amenity NWA sees for a very long time. Even the Childrens Museum of Northwest Arkansas and the Botanical Gardens of the Ozarks are far from being fully funded.

I'm just being realistic and lack any optimism due to so many let downs over the past few years.

Oh and I'm assuming your second statement is regarding the great outdoors that NWA offers? I'll make no argument about that as I agree that we do have some wonderful outdoor recreation. I'd like to see some better recreational amenities added to Beaver Lake, like an expanded swimming beach, but camping and hiking are excellent. I'd also like to see a State funded nature center like the ones found at the new Lake Fort Smith State Park, the Janet Huckabee Arkansas River Valley Nature Center in Fort Smith, Governor Mike Huckabee Delta Rivers Nature Center in Pine Bluff, and Forrest L. Wood Crowley’s Ridge Nature Center in Jonesboro. Something like those would be an awesome amenity for NWA.

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Keep in mind that Crystal Bridges is a personal project by Alice Walton and not a publicly funded project. Crystal Bridges wouldn't even be a thought if it wasn't being fully funded by a billionaire. So, it might inspire other billionaires to build amanities in NWA, but I wouldn't get my hopes up of that happening. The new ballpark in Springdale may be the only publicly funded amenity NWA sees for a very long time. Even the Childrens Museum of Northwest Arkansas and the Botanical Gardens of the Ozarks are far from being fully funded.

I'm just being realistic and lack any optimism due to so many let downs over the past few years.

Oh and I'm assuming your second statement is regarding the great outdoors that NWA offers? I'll make no argument about that as I agree that we do have some wonderful outdoor recreation. I'd like to see some better recreational amenities added to Beaver Lake, like an expanded swimming beach, but camping and hiking are excellent. I'd also like to see a State funded nature center like the ones found at the new Lake Fort Smith State Park, the Janet Huckabee Arkansas River Valley Nature Center in Fort Smith, Governor Mike Huckabee Delta Rivers Nature Center in Pine Bluff, and Forrest L. Wood Crowley’s Ridge Nature Center in Jonesboro. Something like those would be an awesome amenity for NWA.

I'd also like to see a nature center for the area somewhere. The only question is where to put it?

I think it would be great out in east Rogers on Beaver Lake, or even SE Fayetteville on the White River.

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I'd also like to see a nature center for the area somewhere. The only question is where to put it?

I think it would be great out in east Rogers on Beaver Lake, or even SE Fayetteville on the White River.

Hobbs State Park on the south end of Beaver Lake would be the best place since there's already some funding going in to Hobbs. Also:

"Future development and expanded visitor programs at the HSPCA will include educational opportunities at a visitor/educational center, cabins, pavilions, picnic areas, additional hiking trails, and archery and orienteering courses. The 17,000-square-foot visitor center will feature an exhibit gallery, wildlife viewing area and two classrooms. Future plans for the center call for a "mock" cave environment that visitors can view after descending by elevator to the building

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Oh and I'm assuming your second statement is regarding the great outdoors that NWA offers? I'll make no argument about that as I agree that we do have some wonderful outdoor recreation. I'd like to see some better recreational amenities added to Beaver Lake, like an expanded swimming beach, but camping and hiking are excellent. I'd also like to see a State funded nature center like the ones found at the new Lake Fort Smith State Park, the Janet Huckabee Arkansas River Valley Nature Center in Fort Smith, Governor Mike Huckabee Delta Rivers Nature Center in Pine Bluff, and Forrest L. Wood Crowley’s Ridge Nature Center in Jonesboro. Something like those would be an awesome amenity for NWA.

Masons, actually (and given previous threads I'm going to be cautious on saying this) it's because I've heard NWA described as a big city (or big enough) that doesn't yet have the problems of big cities. For now, to some, that's a special amenity.

But the beauty of this state (and parts of adjoining MO and OK) is indubitable.

(BTW, forgot to add...remember a couple of months ago when there were two separate stories in (I think) the BCR/ADG...one about the expectation that Bentonville would become a tourist destination for Chinese people given the China W-M presence, the other about how one of if not the most successful U.S.-to-Mexico tourist businesses is here in B'ville as well?

If The Lord doesn't return first, we're going to be marveling at what we never expected in this area for awhile to come...)

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Masons, actually (and given previous threads I'm going to be cautious on saying this) it's because I've heard NWA described as a big city (or big enough) that doesn't yet have the problems of big cities. For now, to some, that's a special amenity.

But the beauty of this state (and parts of adjoining MO and OK) is indubitable.

(BTW, forgot to add...remember a couple of months ago when there were two separate stories in (I think) the BCR/ADG...one about the expectation that Bentonville would become a tourist destination for Chinese people given the China W-M presence, the other about how one of if not the most successful U.S.-to-Mexico tourist businesses is here in B'ville as well?

If The Lord doesn't return first, we're going to be marveling at what we never expected in this area for awhile to come...)

I like your optimism, I really do. :)

I used to be optimistic about NWA, but I've grown weary of all the waiting around for something to happen. I see so many great things being completed in other parts of Arkansas, but it seems everything is only in it's initial phase in NWA and stays that way for years. I guess we have to take things in 3-4 year increments up here, so hopefully after Crystal Bridges is completed we'll start seeing some more great amenities in the next decade.

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I like your optimism, I really do. :)

I used to be optimistic about NWA, but I've grown weary of all the waiting around for something to happen. I see so many great things being completed in other parts of Arkansas, but it seems everything is only in it's initial phase in NWA and stays that way for years. I guess we have to take things in 3-4 year increments up here, so hopefully after Crystal Bridges is completed we'll start seeing some more great amenities in the next decade.

I think it depends on how long you've lived here.

If you remember the NWA of 15 years ago, the fact that we will soon have an art museum like this is amazing. Bentonville 15 years ago was the smaller than Siloam Springs is today.

The growth in the area from a string of small towns into a metro area with two malls, some big city brands like PF Changs, William Sonoma, etc etc has been pretty amazing to watch. I recall when Fort Smith had a better mall and more restaurants. I remember when Christmas shopping meant going to Tulsa....on a two lane road.

NWA is still a small metro by most standards, but its changed a lot in a relatively short time. I'm pretty pleased with what NWA has to offer right now, and everything new we get is just a bonus.

I'm happy with how big NWA is, and I wouldn't care if it never grew any larger than it is. Its a great place to live. There are many metros our size that don't have nearly the quality of life, have more "big city problems", and don't have things like this new museum coming to town.

I don't understand being frustrated with what the metro lacks, because I've lived here a long time and remember things like this museum and minor league baseball in Springdale sounding like pie in the sky.

Medium sized metros like NWA don't have big city amenities. Its just the way it is. I believe NWA has culturally as much or more to offer than just about any place its size, save a few wealthy vacation enclaves.

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Crystal Bridges is really staking it's claim as the premier center for visual arts in the region. This year's lineup includes nationally and internationally recognized exhibits from some of the leading art museums in the country. And this is even before Crystal Bridges has been built! Can't wait to see what the actual museum holds in store for NWA and the rest of the world. Until Crystal Bridges is built the Massey Hotel in downtown Bentonville is home to the exhibits. More info can be found at Crystal Bridges at the Massey.

2007 Scheduled Exhibits:

William Christenberry: Photographs, 1961-2005

Sat, June 16 - Sun, August 26

This exhibit is being presented for the Walton Arts Center during it's period of reorganization.

Views from a Traveling Train: Paintings from the Arkansas Children's Hospital

Sat, September 01 - Sun, September 16

This exhibit will be presented together for the first time at Crystal Bridges at the Massey prior to their installation at the Arkansas Children

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Yeah thanks for all the info. I hadn't heard anything about them having some exhibits at the Massey. Although I think the 'big' artworks are loaned out to other museums right now.

That's true. As far as I know none of the works from the permanent collection are on exhibit at the Massey; only the travelling exhibits. I guess they're saving the permanent collection for when Crystal Bridges finally opens, which is smart IMO.

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Nice Pics Mike!! Hopefully structural construction will start soon and we will start to see this project come together.

Has anyone been to the Massey? I've heard really good things about it, but I haven't been to it yet.

The pics are from the Crystal Bridges website and I'm hoping they keep updating them. I haven't been to the Massey, but I'm really interested in seeing the "Selected Works by Susan Morrison" exhibit in December. My son will love all the life-size paintings of animals.

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That's true. As far as I know none of the works from the permanent collection are on exhibit at the Massey; only the travelling exhibits. I guess they're saving the permanent collection for when Crystal Bridges finally opens, which is smart IMO.

Yeah and by loaning them out to other museums you start a nice relationship with other museums. That way then they'll let you borrow stuff in the future as well.

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  • 1 month later...

There could be some more potential artwork added to the collection. But it looks like they're having the same problem as before. Seems like everyone keeps fighting to not have artwork leave their state's borders. A collection of art by O'Keefe and her husband Stieglitz, was given to Fisk University in Nashville by O'Keefe on the stipulation that it remain intact. But the Georgia O'Keefe Museum in New Mexico is trying to buy one of the paintings. A Tennessee court will decide whether the painting can be sold to the museum. If it is then Crystal Bridges is clear to spend $30 Mil to be half owner of the rest of the collection. Then the 101 piece collection will spend time between Bentonville and Nashville. The collection also has pieces from Picasso and Renoir.

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There could be some more potential artwork added to the collection. But it looks like they're having the same problem as before. Seems like everyone keeps fighting to not have artwork leave their state's borders. A collection of art by O'Keefe and her husband Stieglitz, was given to Fisk University in Nashville by O'Keefe on the stipulation that it remain intact. But the Georgia O'Keefe Museum in New Mexico is trying to buy one of the paintings. A Tennessee court will decide whether the painting can be sold to the museum. If it is then Crystal Bridges is clear to spend $30 Mil to be half owner of the rest of the collection. Then the 101 piece collection will spend time between Bentonville and Nashville. The collection also has pieces from Picasso and Renoir.

Wow! Crystal Bridges is really fixing to prove to be a nationally recognized art museum. While the Picasso and Renoirs wouldn't be showcased at Crystal Bridges they would make useful bargaining chips for Crystal Bridges to borrow some famous American works from other museums.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I'm going to go ahead and post the article. Sorry Kurt, links with nothing else in the post bothers me. :lol: It's a short article anyway.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- A Nashville judge has rejected an agreement to send a Georgia O'Keeffe painting from Fisk University to a New Mexico museum.

Fisk had agreed to send the painting to the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum in Santa Fe for $7.5 million and the right to sell another prominent painting on the open market.

But Davidson County Chancellor Ellen Hobbs Lyle says the agreement is not in the state's best interests. She says a rival offer from Bentonville's Crystal Bridges Art Museum -- to be opened by the daughter of late Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton -- offers better terms.

The 1927 oil painting is called "Radiator Building -- Night, New York."

It was given to Fisk in 1949 by the estate of O'Keeffe's husband, famed photographer Alfred Stieglitz.

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Yeah I recently read some more details about this as well. If I'm not wrong though, there's still a chance of some sort of lawsuit that could come up. But things do look good for Crystal Bridges, I don't think a lawsuit is too likely.

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