Alice Walton, heiress to the Walmart supermarket fortune and the the 10th richest woman in the United States, opened a spectacular fine art museum in her home town
Architect Moshe Safdie looks out of a window next to a large red untitled magnifying disk sculpture by artist Fred Eversley at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Arkansas. Photograph: Danny Johnston/AP When Alice Walton, heiress to the Walmart supermarket fortune and the the 10th richest woman in the United States , opened a spectacular fine art museum in her home town, she might have expected plaudits and gratitude. It hasn't quite worked out that way. The long-awaited opening of the Crystal Bridges Museum for American Art in Walton's home town of Bentonville, Arkansas, has provoked mixed reactions. Some have celebrated the unveiling of a significant new private art institution, but many have criticised the decision to spend $1.4bn of company and family foundation money as the retail colossus cuts back its workers' benefits. Protesters at the museum have informally joined forces with the Occupy Wall Street camps across the US and point to growing t...