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BARTLESVILLE, OKLAHOMA — 5 hours Price Tower An hour north of Tulsa and looming tall in the middle of an Oklahoma prairie sits the 221-foot Price Tower, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in 1956. Wright nicknamed the building "The Tree that Escaped the Crowded Forest" since it was not built in Manhattan as originally planned but instead in Bartlesville, Oklahoma's first oil boomtown. Price Tower is the architectural visionary's only fully realized skyscraper with interiors he designed, including furniture, fabrics, fixtures, and murals. Go for the architectural masterpiece but don't miss the art gallery and inn (the restaurant is temporarily closed for remodeling), making this reinforced concrete-and-copper building a must for acolytes of architecture. Book ahead for a special tour of the handsomely restored top three floors, including the 19th-floor suite of H.C. Price, the pipeline czar who commissioned Wright to build the tower. (Wright also designed H.C.'s son Harold Jr.'s home, Hillside.) On view at the Price Tower Gallery is "The Rogue Lens" by local newspaper photog Andy Dossett, featuring evocative photographs capturing the "flow" in the creative process among eight artists of different disciplines including a baker, glassblower, and florist (through August 6). pricetower.org. BENTONVILLE, ARKANSAS — 5 hours, 30 minutes Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, The Momentary Since its opening in November 2011, the museum that Walmart scion Alice Walton built has welcomed more than five million visitors. Designed by architect Moshe Safdie, its expansive grounds are capped by a 120-acre sculpture garden (pack sneakers for a hike), a glorious testament to what a sizable Walmart inheritance can achieve. Safdie, known for his mod Habitat 67 in Montreal, has created an architectural tour de force, comparable to Frank Gehry's Guggenheim Bilbao, albeit a building forged from wood that pays homage to its stunning natural setting. Crystal Bridges' architecture alone calls for a trip; then there's the museum's permanent collection — a veritable history lesson spanning centuries of American art. The temporary exhibitions are lagniappe, as is a visit to the museum's sister annex, The Momentary, an industrial and edgy space in a former cheesemaking plant that is all about the now. At CB, don't miss the new permanent Infinity Mirrored Room by Yayoi Kusama; blockbuster "Diego Rivera's America" (through July 31); and, in time for the Fourth, "Flagged for Discussion" (through September 25). At The Momentary, check out the confectionary canvases of Chicago artist Yvette Mayorga (through October 15), and Firelei Báez's immersive and vast sculptural time-travel installation (through September 24). crystalbridges. org, themomentary.org. Retail therapy. Our top spot in Marfa and environs for acquisitions and discoveries is Garza Marfa. Garza Marfa husband-and-wife design team Jamey Garza and Constance Holt-Garza relocated to Marfa from the California coast, and crossbred the effortlessness of the West Coast with the materials and simplicity of the Trans-Pecos desert. Whether fresh takes on Bauhaus furnishings, carefully sourced textiles and ceramics, or Khadi desert blankets hand- dyed and woven to Garza Marfa designs, the shop is a one-stop outfitter for a stylish and considered life in far West Texas. garzamarfa.com. Don't forget Woolaroc. Bartlesville's history is intrinsically linked with Frank Phillips, legendary oilman and founder of Phillips Petroleum. Take in his 1925-era ranch retreat, Woolaroc, in the Osage Hills outside of town, now a museum and 3,700-acre wildlife preserve. (The estate's name is taken from the woods, lakes, and rocks that comprise the natural beauty of this part of Oklahoma.) The museum features a trove of the greatest hits of historic Western art including Remington, Russell, and Moran, as well as contemporary talents, eccentricities and artifacts, Native American artworks, antique Colt firearms, a n d m o re . T h i s collection reflects its founder's unique vision, including his friendship with the Osage tribe. woolaroc.org. (continued) MARTHA AMBLER JACK HEMS 1. Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, Arkansas. 2. Yayoi Kusama's Infinity Mirrored Room — My Heart is Dancing into the Universe, 2018, at Crystal Bridges. 3. Yvette Mayorga's "What a Time to be," 2022- 2023, at The Momentary, Bentonville, Arkansas. 4. The Inn at Price Tower, Bartlesville, Oklahoma. 5. Firelei Báez's To breathe full and free: a declaration, a re-visioning, a correction, 2022- 2023, at The Momentary. STEPHEN IRONSIDE 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 4. 28