Top 9

I love the new acquisitions niche at Crystal Bridges. We’re able to spotlight new additions to the collection in this space, and it creates fun and unexpected conversations between the work in the niche and the colonial works nearby. Currently the niche features a painting by Alice Neel (1900–84) of the actor and civil-rights activist Hugh Hurd (1925–95).

This painting is a new acquisition. It’s fantastic to have it on view in the galleries for the first time.

Alma Thomas is one of my favorite artists, and being able to visit this work daily is a nice perk of my job.

This sculpture is in a reflection area right before you enter the 1940s to Now galleries. It’s a great way to start the walk through the contemporary galleries.

This work by Basquiat is one of my favorites in the museum. It’s a great example of his innovative style.

This is not technically part of our permanent collection, but it showcases art, nature, and architecture and treats the museum like a work of art—which it is. The frame is located near Frank Lloyd Wright’s Bachman-Wilson House, acquired in 2013. Crystal Bridges preserved the house from its original site and reconstructed it on the museum grounds. It opened to the public in 2015.

This painting is large and fantastic. I love the cat.

I enjoy the layers and colors in this work. The closer you look, the more you see.

One of my favorite views from the trails overlooks the ponds. I pass them every day on my walk—it’s a great view. The landscape around the museum is as much a part of the experience as the artwork inside. The water at Crystal Bridges is not only a signature at the museum but an engineering marvel. Weirs under the bridge serve as a dam creating the upper and lower ponds, which flower from the nearby springs and serve as a flood-control system.