Cupid and Psyche, a work that gave American art global prestige.

  • “Cupid and Psyche,” a work that gave American art global prestige.

The City Wire in Fort Smith, followed by the Real Clear Arts blog by Judith Dobrzynski, reported on Don Bacigalupi’s thematic description of the Crystal Bridges Art Museum collection that he gave businessmen at the Arkansas Governor’s Tourism Conference on Tuesday. Bacigalupi said these themes have “emerged” from the collection: “The Artist in Nature” (as exemplified by Asher Durand’s “Kindred Spirits”), “The Artist Innovator” (he noted Eakins’ painting of Dr. Benjamin Howard Rand and Devorah Sperber’s threaded “The Last Supper”); “Women in Art” (Rockwell’s “Rosie the Riveter”) and “The American Artist on the Global Stage” (Benjamin West’s “Cupid and Psyche”).

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Dobrzynski reads the City Wire report as suggesting that the museum’s galleries will be divided thematically, which would require lots of interpretation for the gallery-goers but isn’t a bad idea, as long as the exhibits aren’t static. With the haul Alice Walton has made for the museum, I expect the galleries, and themes, will be changed frequently.

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