At the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Arkansas

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), <em>Awataba Kiva Mural</em>
Pablita Velarde (Tse Tsan), Awataba Kiva Mural

Connecting past to present, Velarde recreates an ancient Hopi mural in this modern painting.

Kay WalkingStick, <em>Havasu Revisited</em>
Kay WalkingStick, Havasu Revisited

WalkingStick tells a story of Indigenous sacredness in her diptych of the rocky landscape of Havasu.

Yayoi Kusama, <em>Infinity Mirrored Room—My Heart is Dancing into the Universe</em>
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, <em>Crater Moon</em>
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, <em>Guernica (Resist #3)</em>
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, <em>Untitled (America)</em>
Glenn Ligon, Untitled (America)

Brilliant red neon illuminates the word "AMERICA," but why are the letters upside down?

Frank Lloyd Wright, Bachman-Wilson House
Frank Lloyd Wright, Bachman-Wilson House

This building is a beautiful testament to Wright's vision of affordable and unique domestic architecture.

Mel Casas, <em>Humanscape 70 (Comic Whitewash)</em>
Mel Casas, Humanscape 70 (Comic Whitewash)

Through heroes like Captain America and Superman, Casas explores the relationship between media and identity.

Luis Alfonso Jiménez, <em>Eagle</em>
Luis Alfonso Jiménez, Eagle

A symbol of the U.S. and Mexico, the eagle reflects Jiménez's Chicano identity.

Marie Watt’s <em>Companion Species (Speech Bubble)</em>: Blankets, Community, and Intersectionality
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, <em>Portrait of Alfred Stieglitz</em>
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, <em>The Good Shepherd</em>
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