American heiress Alice Walton, 62, daughter of Walmart founder Sam Walton, has opened the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in the small town Bentonville, Arkansas – home to the headquarters of Wal-Mart Stores, the largest private employer and retailer in the world.
Bentonville has a population of 35,301, and as of this month, an additional 1,200 works of art at its new museum, making it home to one of the most important art collections in the United States.
Visitors can view a history of American art through Charles Willson Peale’s portrait of President George Washington, and the works of John Singer Sargent, Winslow Homer, Edward Hopper, Andrew Wyeth, Claes Oldenburg, Andy Warhol, and Alexander Calder, among many others.
The museum takes its name from nearby Crystal Spring and the bridge construction incorporated in the building’s glass and wood design by architect Moshe Safdie. A series of pavilions nestled around two creek-fed ponds will house galleries, meeting and classroom spaces, and a large, glass-enclosed gathering hall.
Visitor amenities will also include a café on a glass-enclosed bridge overlooking the ponds and a Marlon Blackwell-designed museum store. Sculpture and walking trails will link the museum’s 120-acre park and gardens to downtown Bentonville, Arkansas.
The museum has faced controversy as protesters complain about the massive expenditure, while Walmart is busy cutting back its workers’ benefits.