A new exhibit is on display at the Bella Vista Historical Museum, showing and explaining the work of Ozark architect, gold medal recipient through the American Institute of Architects and Frank Lloyd Wright apprentice, Euine Fay Jones.
Bella Vista Historical Society president Xyta Lucas explained that the exhibit, "Outside the Pale: The Architecture of Fay Jones," is on loan from Old Statehouse Museum in Little Rock and will be at the museum for six months, from June until December.
A decision will be made regarding where the exhibit heads next at the end of that six months, she explained. If the Old Statehouse Museum doesn't request to have it back, she said, she'd like to see it spend some time at the Fay Jones School of Architecture at the University of Arkansas.
Volunteer Ernie Deaton brought the crates holding the exhibit from Little Rock, and several other volunteers unloaded them, Lucas said, and it got put up May 31 by volunteers Jack Kellogg, John Bozarth, Chuck Pribbernow and Linda Lloyd.
"It's certainly one of a kind," Lucas said of the exhibit. "The fact that he actually designed three structures that still stand in Bella Vista ... makes it very special to Bella Vista."
It's timely as well, she said, because two of those structures have significant anniversaries this year: the Mildred B. Cooper Memorial Chapel is hitting its 30th anniversary this year, while the Country Club, which reopened after remodeling earlier this year, has a 50th birthday coming up.
"This is a special year in the work of Fay Jones," she said.
The museum also has a permanent exhibit on Jones' work in Bella Vista, she said.
Cindy Adams, director of the Cooper Chapel, said she loves the site and, with that anniversary on the way, what sticks out most is the timelessness of the design.
"It's a landmark," she said.
Despite pushing 30 years old, she said, the structure still appeals to newer, diverse, younger audiences, and she can see people approaching it in awe every day.
"Everyone here takes so much pride in sharing this with the public," she said.
Lucas said she appreciates Jones' work for the simple, uncomplicated lines that come together to form something great.
"When he puts it all together, it's just really beautiful," she said. "It's almost puzzling, the effect it has on us just looking at it."
General News on 06/13/2018