5. Building The Collection

One Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art acquisition has been discussed throughout the year, but the public can't see it yet.

Crystal Bridges officials announced in January the acquisition of a Frank Lloyd Wright-designed home called the Bachman Wilson House. Located in New Jersey, the house was threatened by flood waters, and the owners sold the building with the idea of preserving it, What's Up! reported. The house was taken apart and now waits in storage while a place on the southern edge of the museum campus is readied for construction and reassembly.

Beth Bobbitt, media relations manager at the museum, says concrete was poured for the foundation last week. In a Dec. 5 What's Up! article, Bobbitt was quoted as saying the wood framing will follow in January, and the project remains on schedule for a summer 2015 opening date. University of Arkansas students are designing and constructing a pavilion that will serve as the interpretation space for the house, she says. The students recently presented a model of the pavilion as it will appear adjacent to the house, and that is now on display in the museum's south lobby, she adds.

The Bachman Wilson House is one of a few examples of a type of architecture Wright called Usonian, Sean Malone, chief executive officer of the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation, explained in the Dec. 5 article. These homes were typically designed for middle-income families, and they worked on Wright's notion "that great design was not for the wealthiest," Malone was quoted as saying.

An Architecture Speaker Series began in the spring at the museum to explore the work of Frank Lloyd Wright and Crystal Bridges architect Moshe Safdie and the connections between their designs. A Dec. 10 program presented by Malone was called "The Future of Frank Lloyd Wright." Two more Architecture Speaker Series presentations are planned for Jan. 14 and Feb. 8, and on Feb. 23, Crystal Bridges volunteer and architecture buff Kirk Dandridge will present a program on two portfolios of Frank Lloyd Wright drawings.

Several other 2014 additions to the museum's permanent collection can, however, be viewed now. Notable among them is "Hanging Heart (Gold/Magenta)," a sculpture by Jeff Koons that is suspended above diners in Eleven, the museum's restaurant. The Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City, during its retrospective of Koons' work this fall, said the artist "is widely regarded as one of the most important, influential, popular and controversial artists of the postwar era." A purchase price for the work was not announced, but a similar giant heart sold for more than $20 million at auction in 2007. Koons spoke at Crystal Bridges in July.

Museum officials also announced the purchase of "Buckyball," an illuminated sculpture by Leo Villareal. "Buckyball," named after Buckminster Fuller, was deposited near the museum's main entrance in 2013 on loan from the artist. The piece was added to the permanent collection in April of this year.