Date of Graduation
5-2026
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelor of Arts
Degree Level
Undergraduate
Department
Art
Advisor/Mentor
Dr. Davida Fernández-Barkan
Committee Member
Dr. Kim Sexton
Second Committee Member
Dr. William F. McComas
Third Committee Member
Dr. Ed Holland
Abstract
This thesis examines the 2025 reinstallation of the “Foundations of American Art” galleries at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Arkansas as a case study through which to analyze how museum narratives are constructed, negotiated, and presented in the twenty-first century. Drawing on the historiography of museum display, from early modern cabinets of curiosity to nineteenth-century salon-style exhibitions, it argues that galleries function not as neutral containers for objects, but as interpretive frameworks shaped by curatorial decisions, spatial organization, and institutional context. While the reinstallation positions itself as a reconsideration of the “foundations” of American art through thematic juxtapositions, expanded representation, and more accessible interpretive strategies, it simultaneously remains structured by the historical dynamics of private collecting and patronage that undergird the museum’s formation.
Situating the galleries within the philanthropic and institutional framework of Crystal Bridges--particularly the influence of its founder, Alice Walton, and the broader economic and cultural development of Northwest Arkansas—this study demonstrates how the exhibition negotiates the persistent tension between public mission and private influence. Through spatial analysis of the galleries and engagement with curatorial perspectives, it reveals that the reinstallation both challenges and reinforces established art historical narratives. Ultimately, the thesis argues that contemporary efforts to expand or reinterpret the canon remain inextricably bound to the collecting histories, institutional priorities, and structures of authority that make such reinterpretation possible, positioning the museum as a modern iteration of the cabinet of curiosities that reconfigures, rather than escapes, its historical precedents.
Keywords
Museum Studies; American Art; Curatorial Practice; Patronage; Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art; Canon Formation
Citation
Quinlen, A. (2026). A Modern Cabinet of Curiosities: Patronage, Narrative, and the Foundations of American Art at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art. School of Art Undergraduate Honors Theses Retrieved from https://scholarworks.uark.edu/artsuht/9
