Art News

Public gets first look at Wal-Mart heiress’ new Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art

BENTONVILLE (AP).- Art lovers got their first look Friday at the treasures amassed by Wal-Mart heiress Alice Walton and displayed at the new Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, an enormous facility that took six years to build. Walton helped open the museum that’s situated on 120 acres just a 10-minute walk from Bentonville’s downtown square. The museum expects to draw about 200,000 visitors in its first year of operation. “This is it,” Walton said during a ceremony to mark the public opening. “I’m prejudiced, but it’s the most beautiful building I’ve ever seen.” Designed by architect Moshe Safdie, the museum includes six buildings, two of which are structured as bridges over ponds fed by a clear-running stream.