Bentonville, Arkansas, is best known as the home of Walmart. You might not expect to find a major American art museum here, but Crystal Bridges is elite. It is one of the best in the country. It sits in a wooded ravine, and it is free to enter.

Alice Walton founded the museum, and it opened in 2011. The collection covers American art from colonial times to today. What makes it different is the setting. The buildings sit down in the land, not on top of it.

The curved copper roofs of Crystal Bridges over a pond dotted with coloured glass spheres
The museum wraps around its ponds, with glass spheres floating on the water

The buildings

The architect, Moshe Safdie, built the museum across a spring-fed stream. He dammed the stream to make two ponds, then placed the galleries around and over the water. The roofs are curved copper. When we visited in August, colored glass balls were floating on the water.

The two bridges that give the museum its name are galleries too. Long curved wooden beams run along the roof, and the walls are glass. You walk past the art with water and forest on both sides.

A long glass-walled gallery bridge with curved timber beams at Crystal Bridges
Inside one of the bridges, with timber beams overhead and the water on both sides

The art

The main collection walks you through American history in order, and it has some very well-known works. You could easily spend a whole day inside. But some of the best pieces are outside, along the paths into the woods.

Robert Indiana’s LOVE stands in rusted steel near the museum. Farther along, in a clearing, there is a giant bronze spider. This is Maman by Louise Bourgeois, more than nine metres high. She made it as a tribute to her mother, who was a weaver. It is much more striking when you walk underneath it.

Louise Bourgeois's giant bronze spider Maman in the woods at Crystal Bridges
Louise Bourgeois’s Maman, waiting at the edge of the woods
Robert Indiana's LOVE sculpture in rust-coloured steel at Crystal Bridges
Robert Indiana’s LOVE, in weathered steel

The trails

The grounds cover more than a hundred acres, with miles of walking and biking trails through the Ozark forest. There is more sculpture along the way, and the shade is nice in summer. You can also walk or ride into downtown Bentonville from here, and the town has plenty of good places to eat.

Practical Info

  • Where: Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, Arkansas.
  • Cost: General admission to the permanent collection is free, thanks to a sponsorship. Some temporary exhibitions charge a fee.
  • Allow: At least half a day, and longer if you want to walk the trails.
  • Getting there: Northwest Arkansas National Airport is the closest airport, and the museum is easy to reach by car from downtown Bentonville.
  • Hours: The museum closes one day a week, so check before you go.
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