BENTONVILLE, AK — Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art has received Two Jesters by Dan Dailey as a generous gift from Florida-based philanthropists Merle and Michael Orlove. The 1996 blown glass and fabricated bronze vase is among the first pieces to define Dailey’s iconic Circus Vase series (163 pieces, 1995 – present).
“This is an exciting time at the museum as we just opened expanded galleries and facilities on June 6 & 7, 2026, increasing our building’s size by 50 percent. We’ve added 114,000 square feet of galleries, studios, dining options, and event spaces where everyone can enjoy and explore American art, admire the natural beauty of the Ozarks, and experience creativity and community,” said Jen Padgett, Crystal Bridges’ Windgate Curator of Craft. “We're happy to share that Two Jesters is now on view in our permanent collection galleries, available for all our visitors to enjoy.”
The opening of Crystal Bridges Expansion welcomed nearly 10,000 people to mark the occasion with a weekend celebration featuring live music, dance performances, artmaking and artist demonstrations, wellness activities, curator and family tours, pop-up performances by Jazz at Lincoln Center, and story time in the galleries.
The museum’s new temporary exhibition space opened with Keith Haring in 3D, featuring rarely seen works and offering the first exhibition of its kind dedicated to Haring’s three-dimensional practice. Alongside it, the new Contemporary American Art Gallery opened, featuring Yayoi Kusama’s Infinity Mirrored Room and Teresita Fernandez’s Manigua(Mirror). In addition, all new and existing gallery spaces feature Indigenous art and craft objects, reinforcing the museum’s ongoing commitment to championing historically underrepresented artists and expanding the narrative of American art.
The mission of Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art is to welcome all to celebrate the American spirit in a setting that unites the power of art with the beauty of nature. Since opening in 2011, the museum has welcomed more than 15 million visitors across its spaces, with no cost for admission. Crystal Bridges was founded in 2005 as a public 501(c)(3) nonprofit charitable organization by philanthropist Alice Walton. The collection spans five centuries of American masterworks from early American to current day and is enhanced by temporary exhibitions.
The museum is located at 600 Museum Way, Bentonville, Arkansas, on 134 acres of Ozark landscape and was designed by the world-renowned Safdie Architects. A rare Frank Lloyd Wright-designed house was preserved and relocated to the museum grounds in 2015.