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
Pablita Velarde (Tse Tsan), Awataba Kiva Mural
Connecting past to present, Velarde recreates an ancient Hopi mural in this modern painting.
Kay WalkingStick, Havasu Revisited
WalkingStick tells a story of Indigenous sacredness in her diptych of the rocky landscape of Havasu.
Yayoi Kusama, Infinity Mirrored Room—My Heart is Dancing into the Universe
Kusama's installation of mirrors, orbs, and colorful lights simulates the feeling of ineffable vastness and infinity.
Toshiko Takaezu, Crater Moon
Takaezu's ceramics reflect her belief that art should have "mystery, an unsaid quality; it contains a spirit and is alive."
Mickalene Thomas, Guernica (Resist #3)
Thomas's assemblage of photographs, paint, and glittering sequins lends sacredness to the struggles of the civil rights movements.
Glenn Ligon, Untitled (America)
Brilliant red neon illuminates the word "AMERICA," but why are the letters upside down?
Frank Lloyd Wright, Bachman-Wilson House
This building is a beautiful testament to Wright's vision of affordable and unique domestic architecture.
Mel Casas, Humanscape 70 (Comic Whitewash)
Through heroes like Captain America and Superman, Casas explores the relationship between media and identity.
Luis Alfonso Jiménez, Eagle
A symbol of the U.S. and Mexico, the eagle reflects Jiménez's Chicano identity.
Marie Watt’s Companion Species (Speech Bubble): Blankets, Community, and Intersectionality
Conversations between part and whole, between individual and community, are at the core of Companion Species.
Florine Stettheimer, Portrait of Alfred Stieglitz
This portrait gives us a glimpse into the creative circle of Alfred Stieglitz in 1920s New York, with references to Georgia O'Keeffe, Arthur Dove, Henry McBride, and others.
Henry Ossawa Tanner, The Good Shepherd
Painted after the end of World War I and amid pressure to "represent his race" as a Black man, Tanner brings biblical scenes into the modern world
