Judith Dobrzynski is surprised to find out that the Crystal Bridges Museum, Wal-mart heir Alice Walton’s museum of American art in Arkansas, acquires contemporary works, namely this Walton Ford work painted in 2009 called The Island:

According to the museum’s website, Alice Walton has purchased a few other contemporary works — one each by James Turrell, Mark di Suvero and Ted Jones. And so the Crystal Bridges tale gets more and more interesting. Contemporary artists and art dealers could use a big, new, deep-pocketed buyer at the moment; maybe they have a stealth one.

Alice Walton’s Crystal Bridges Museum Goes Wild (Real Clear Arts)