The Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, in Bentonville, Ark., is this country's wealthiest, most ambitious new art museum. Thanks to its arrival, a visitor to northwestern Arkansas now finds a fascinating jumble of heartland scenery, small-town sensibility, global commerce and American art, along with a measure of irony. After raising big-box stores around the world -- and being blamed by many for the decline of Main Street commerce across America -- Wal-Mart and its founding family have relaunched their hometown's downtown.

THE BASICS

The museum, which celebrated its first birthday in November, features Gilbert Stuart's "George Washington," Norman Rockwell's "Rosie the Riveter," Andy Warhol's "Dolly Parton" and hundreds of other artworks less famous and more subtle.

THE MUSEUM

Alice Walton, the Texas-based daughter of Sam Walton, founded Crystal Bridges in 2005, spent untold millions on the building (the museum won't release a number) and millions more on the art. In the run-up to the opening last year, the Walton Family Foundation contributed $800 million. Wal-Mart contributed $20 million and is credited as the sponsor of free general admission for all.

The property was designed by star architect Moshe Safdie and features a chain of buildings with glass walls and organic curves, sitting atop two spring-fed ponds. Crystal Bridges is surrounded by 120 carefully landscaped acres and walking and biking trails. There are several outdoor artworks, most notably a James Turrell installation aimed at the sky and a sculptural version of Robert Indiana's much-reproduced "LOVE" design.

Inside, Crystal Bridges covers five centuries with a mostly chronological layout, so you begin with Stuart's "George Washington" in the colonial galleries. You wind up with contemporary works such as Nick Cave's playful "Soundsuit" sculpture and an oversized, eerily detailed 2010 bust by Evan Penny titled "Old Self: Portrait of the Artist as He Will (Not) Be."

Among the 450 or so works in between, you find a collection that hits just about every note, from the populist touch of Warhol's "Dolly Parton" to the implicit racial politics of Kerry James Marshall's painting "Our Town."

Some New Yorkers are still smarting over Crystal Bridges' 2005 purchase of the New York Public Library's Asher B. Durand painting "Kindred Spirits" for a reported $35 million. And it took a long court battle for the museum to buy a half-interest in Fisk University's coveted Stieglitz Collection. Opponents didn't want the works to leave Fisk in Nashville, but under the deal, the 101 works can now alternate between the institutions, giving Crystal Bridges a chance to display major works such as Georgia O'Keeffe's iconic painting of Manhattan's Radiator Building at night.

It's easy and rewarding to spend hours with the art at Crystal Bridges. A quibble with the design is that Safdie was so eager to dazzle us with the play of sunlight bouncing off the ponds that it can distract from the art itself. Also, all those glass walls have surely reduced the amount of space in which light-sensitive artworks can be placed.

WHAT ELSE TO DO

Don't miss the downtown square, its stately courthouse and a statue honoring James H. Berry, a Confederate officer who became Arkansas' governor in the 1880s. On Saturdays in warmer weather, there's a farmers market, and on some Friday nights, there are acoustic jam sessions.

The Wal-Mart Visitor Center (105 N. Main St.) tells the authorized story of how founder Sam Walton conquered the retail world, starting with a five-and-dime in Bentonville in 1950. Now, the company racks up more than $1 billion a day in net sales and has 2.2 million workers in 27 countries (105 N. Main St.; 1-479-273-1329).

WHERE TO STAY

Laughlin House Bed & Breakfast, 102 NW. 3rd St., Bentonville; 1-479-268-6805; www.laughlinhousebb.com. Three rooms with private baths, $112-$199 a night. The Ebe Room (bathroom across the hall) is $79-$89.

WHERE TO EAT

Tavola Trattoria, 108 SE. A St., Bentonville; 1-479-715-4738; www.tavolatrattoria.com. Dinner main dishes generally $12-$24.

Table Mesa Bistro, 108 E. Central Ave., Bentonville; 1-479-715-6706; www.tablemesabistro.com. Dinner main dishes generally $8.75-$19.50.

Tusk & Trotter, 110 SE. A St., Bentonville; 1-479-268-4494; www.tuskandtrotter.com. Dinner main dishes generally $9-$29.

IF YOU GO

Crystal Bridges Museum, 600 Museum Way; 1-479-418-5700; www.crystalbridges.org.

Bentonville Convention & Visitors Bureau, www.bentonville.org