Alice Walton is a different kind of philanthropist, one who uses her Walmart fortune to fund LGBTQIA+ initiatives in Arkansas and bids on world-class artworks while astride a horse. The world’s second-richest woman, a daughter of Walmart founder Sam Walton and his wife Helen, Walton is a subtle but major force in the both the art world, where her Bentonville, Arkansas Crystal Bridges Museum of Art has become one of the greatest cultural destinations in the region, and the world of giving, her Alice L. Walton Foundation working to support health, education, and food insecurity.
Walton wears her wealth quietly, living in her hometown of Bentonville and making frequent visits to the museum. When Crystal Bridges opened in 2011, it was a revelation. An architectural feat designed by Moshe Safdie, it sits on 120 acres, offers free admission, and was the first major American art museum to open since 1974. What Walton was doing was new; she outbid well established collectors on works from Edward Hopper, Winslow Homer, and Jackson Pollock—pieces that would customarily never be seen outside major American cities.
“This next decade is about expansion,” she says.” “We recognize that there are communities we can serve more fully with additional space.” To that end, the Crystal Bridges’s building size will be increased by 50 percent, an increase of 100,000 square feet, which will allow the museum to further invest in Native American art and American crafts. More recently, she expanded her aim with the Art Bridges program, which encourages museums (and supports them financially) in finding ways to get artworks out of storage and on display around the country. She created it for the same reasons she started Crystal Bridges: “Everyone deserves access to art, and in small to mid-sized communities across the country, access has often been limited. Let’s make art available to everyone!”
Since 2017, Walton has also run the Alice L. Walton Foundation, which works to address education issues, increase access to art, and promote economic opportunity. As she moves forward, she’s increasingly devoted energy and funds to healthcare, and in 2021, started the Alice L. Walton School of Medicine, a degree granting program that incorporates elements of spiritual health. “My focus on improving health outcomes has grown significantly over the past several years, and the pandemic has made gaps in our system increasingly evident,” she says. “I’m a proponent of a whole-person approach to health care, focused on physical, mental, emotional, and social well-being.”
On what she hopes her biggest impact will be
“I hope my biggest impact will be the lasting change that offering access can provide. The Alice L. Walton School of Medicine in particular can play a significant role in transforming health care, as it will educate generations of medical professionals in whole-person care. If the work we’re doing helps people feel connected, valued, and improves their quality of life, then I’ll feel that I’ve made an impact.”
On the first woman of impact to make an impression on her
“My mother was an incredible woman who always focused on how to help others. Her giving spirit has been a constant source of impact and inspiration to me.”
On the biggest accomplishments of Crystal Bridges
“Crystal Bridges has proven that all communities appreciate, enjoy, and cherish great works of art and architecture. Our biggest accomplishment is that people in our region think of Crystal Bridges as their museum—they come here with family and friends to have shared experiences or reflective moments, to walk the trails or to listen to an internationally-renowned speaker, to take prom pictures or have a preschool playdate.”
A version of this article appears in the April 2023 issue of ELLE.
