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Durand's "Kindred Spirits" cost $35 million.
The original is 50 times better than this graphic. |
I remember the stir when
Alice Walton bought "Kindred Spirits" for her future art museum, which is the finest collection of American art in the country. The painting had been donated to the New York Library, but they put it up for auction to raise money for their endowment. They invited a select group to bid on it, and Alice Walton won.
We visited Crystal Bridges yesterday with members who drove several hours for the experience and Sunday worship. We looked at the license plates. People were there from Nevada, New York, all across America.
We were looking for the Gilbert Stuart portrait of George Washington. The same initial gallery featured "Kindred Spirits." As I walked up to it, goose-bumps went up and down, from my head to my feet, time after time. Goose-bumps are funny. They arrive without warning and cannot be summoned. This was a familiar painting, ever since art appreciation class at Augustana, but no print can do it justice. The graphic above is just for reference. When you visit the museum you will know what I mean.
A Chicago visitor to the dog park told me he came to Benton County just to see the museum. He said Chicago had an America art museum for several years, but it folded. He was awe-struck by Crystal Bridges, which was built over Crystal Creek, where the Walton kids used to play.
Admission is free for everyone. We refused to see a Frank Lloyd Wright shrine in Phoenix because they wanted $15 each. We looked in the windows for free. Later I read the place was in trouble, short of funds. Open Source is a better approach - make it available for free and good things will happen.
The second painting is another one that must be seen in person. Imagine this, if you will. The lighting is perfect at Crystal Bridges, a combination of natural and man-made. The floors are that floating wood style, kind to the feet and legs. The paintings hang unprotected, except for the constant hovering of docents, guards, and slavering Dobermans. I made up the part about the Dobermans. The 18" inch rule applies, and people are very careful to hang back.
We could observe the paintings close enough to see the brush strokes.
The Peale portrait of Washington, below, is remarkable for having the blue sash and the epaulets. He wore one or the other, not both, because both are honorary decorations.
The graphic is fairly good, but hardly as striking as the original. The
moire pattern on the sash is so realistic in the painting that it looks exactly like silk, not a painting of silk.
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This is better than most photos of Peale's Washington,
but the sash in this graphic reminds me of plastic flowers. |
The trails, sculptures, building, and setting are all a delight for anyone. People can park away from the museum and walk a trail through the woods to the building. Shuttles also move visitors from parking lots to the main entrance.
The only disappointment was the latest in modern art, which reminded me at once of modern theology - an expensive sham that no one will identify as fraud. I called one amorphous lump on the floor "Silver Poo." An enormous painting called "Black Balloon" was nothing more than vertical strips.
The transition to modern art was fun - The Ashcan School. Those are realistic scenes painted in a hurry. I thought of several artists I wanted to see on the next trip. The Chicago visitor said, "You have to see it at night, when the entire building changes."
Many expensive purchases go into private collections and are seldom seen again. A rare painting can be increase in value many times faster than other investments.
I saw Alice Walton at a recent meeting. She was so pleased to be donating all this art to her own hometown area, instead of keeping it for herself. Collections grow in value when they exhibit a great range of artists, styles, and eras. This museum will benefit the whole region in many ways, and its creation earned money for many institutions that wanted to generate some cash from their own previous investments and donations.
Alice went looking for one piece of lost art. No one knew where this unique painting went. A conversation with someone led a family to say to Alice or her representative, "Oh, that's here. Hanging on the wall in our home." It was a short drive away from the proposed museum.
