Lucky me. My father, Robert Tannen, was commissioned to create a piece for the new Crystal Bridges Museum of American Artand I got to zip off to Arkansas for the artist’s opening. Alice Walton, the visionary daughter of Sam (Walmart) Walton, has created our very own Bilbao on the edge of the Ozark Mountains in Bentonville. A short walk from the town square, the celebrated Moshe Safdie structure is the first of many surprises. You’d never know it was there until you’re upon it. The entrance elevator descends three stories to the main galleries and the landscape is as much a part of the museum as the art itself.

The transitional spaces between the galleries look out on the landscape on one side and the swooping copper-roofed “bridges” on the other. The buildings themselves hover over ponds, central to the museum’s design and fed by a crystal spring. The effect is dramatic and elegant and suits the environment. The art collection is arranged chronologically from seventeenth century works, to familiar Old Lyme Colony painters (Childe Hassam, Willard Metcalf) to modern masters like Mark di Suvero and James Turrell (oh, and my dad!). The controversy surrounding the museum, its acquisitions, and whether it makes sense to have a world class art venue in middle America becomes moot once you visit. Everyone should have access to beautiful things and this outstanding museum has achieved just that, making art accessible to all. Admission is free.