Crystal Bridges Museum
Bentonville, Arkansas
August 6–7, 2026
I was surprised that there are nonstop flights between Charlotte and Bentonville, Arkansas. But I really shouldn't have been, since that is between the second largest banking center in the US and the headquarters town of Walmart. My friend Torrey Curtis met me at the airport, and we had two full days to visit Crystal Bridges Museum. From there we visited a Civil War battlefield and then several parts of Oklahoma.
The Walton family, mostly with impetus from Alice L. Walton, created the museum and furnished much of the art. Admission is free, other than for some special exhibits. I'll start by posting some pictures from that visit, and then add more commentary and pictures from the rest of the trip over the coming weeks. You can see different pictures from my 2015 visit.
After a short guided tour of the main exhibits, we toured the Frank Lloyd Wright house that was moved there from New Jersey.
We next visited the special exhibit of works by Keith Haring and a few by colleagues. I will add more about him here later.
He turned some of his drawings into metal sculpture.
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One of his most famous drawings is the Barking Dog. Here is the scupture he made from it.
We arrived early the next day to explore some of the outdoor art before the August heat was in full force. Torrey walked more of the Art Trail than I did. I had done the trails when we were there in 2015. The spider has been moved from the main entrance to the Art Trail.
Norman Rockwell painted Rosie the Riveter for a cover of The Saturday Evening Post. The muted colors take into account the effects of the printing process. He modeled the pose on Michelangelo’s Prophet Isaiah on the Sistine Chapel ceiling. Note the copy of Mein Kampf under her foot and her name on the lunch pail.
The Woodsmen of the World fraternal organization commissioned Tiffany to produce windows for their national headquarters and for each state office.
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His daughter played the mom on Dallas.
The artist used shoestrings of various colors to make his point.
The great photographer Alfred Stieglitz and his famous painter wife Georgia O’Keeffe dontated an art collection to Fisk University in Nashville. Exhibits rotate between there and Crystal Bridges.
Pea Ridge National Military Park ->