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As the Nov. 10, 2011, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette editorial page proclaimed, a project that had “morphed from a 15-year-old dream to a $1.2 billion showcase” was opening for business Nov. 11.
The Nov. 12 Democrat-Gazette front page featured that opening: Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art.
The museum boasted 201,000 square feet and consisted of eight pavilions connected by bridge-like structures and surrounding two creek-fed ponds, all resting in a ravine on property dedicated to the project by the Walton family.
The museum’s founder was Alice Walton, daughter of Sam Walton, the famous founder of Walmart. She had approached Moshe Safdie about leading the project. After a trip to see the land, Safdie, an “architect, urban planner, educator, theorist and author who embraces a comprehensive and humane design philosophy” according to the Crystal Bridge’s website, agreed to lend his expertise to make the dream a reality.
At the museum’s opening celebration on the Bentonville Square, Alice Walton told the crowd of 1,000 that her family had dedicated the museum to her mother, Helen Walton, an art lover in her own right.
Safdie also spoke, explaining, “I wanted to create a place that uplifts the spirit.”
“Crystal Bridges is now yours,” he told them. “May it flourish.”
Between Wednesday and Sunday of the opening week, 16,825 visitors were expected to pass through the new museum.
Democrat-Gazette reporters Tracie Dungan, Brenda Bernet and Chris Branam covered the opening, while photographer Jason Ivester made sure readers would have more than one picture worth a thousand words.
Bernet’s article inside the front section Nov. 12 quoted David Houston, then director of curatorial at Crystal Bridges, who said the collection spanned “more than 300 years of creativity.” The collection was arranged chronologically, featuring key themes: art in nature; images of and by women; American artists who worked abroad or had their works displayed in other countries; and images of artists.
In interviews on the Crystal Bridges website, Alice Walton and Safdie discussed the design elements of the pavilions. Walton always envisioned a “seamless integration” of nature, architecture and the art as the guiding theme of the project. As Safdie put it, pointing out the curved walls that allude to the curving mountainside behind them, “landscape is the narrative of the art.”
Safdie remembered Alice Walton’s original desire not to create a museum in the traditional sense, but a place of community. Weaving nature in with art, she said, creates that “comfort factor” for visitors that makes community possible.
To read more Democrat-Gazette coverage of the museum’s opening and view related photos, go to arkansasonline.com/200/2011bonus.
— Jeanne Dahl
You can download a PDF by clicking the image, or by clicking here.
