We have a special place in our hearts for Crystal Bridges. An amazing collection, a gorgeous building set in the water within a beautiful landscape. And if you can't get there in person, virtually explore with Smarthistory as your guide.
Some background
videos + essays
Link to the Crystal Bridges's website
Amy Sherald, Precious Jewels by the Sea
This monumental painting of Black people at the beach speaks to a dearth of Black figures in the art history canon
Alma Thomas, Lunar Rendezvous—Circle of Flowers
Thomas takes inspiration from both the 1969 moon landing and her backyard garden
Kerry James Marshall, Our Town
The American Dream is not what it seems in this artwork that combines painting and collage
Suchitra Mattai, Exodus
Although there are no figures in this massive tapestry, the South Asian diaspora is manifest through the almost 200 globally sourced saris.
Gerardus Duyckinck I (attributed), Six portraits of the Levy-Franks family, c. 1735
A Jewish family in early New York
Bellows, Return of the Useless
The New York based ashcan artist George Bellows tackles the horrors of the First World War
Maya Lin’s Silver Upper White River
The river's brilliant reflections gave shape to this enormous sculpture of silver
A Harlem street scene by Jacob Lawrence, Ambulance Call
Lawrence captures the vitality of Harlem and highlights the advancements in medical care for and by people of color.
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