The $38 million restoration of Edward Durell Stone’s 1951 Fine Arts Center at the University of Arkansas revives a bold postwar experiment that once brought Picasso artwork to a college town and now reunites the landmark building with works from its groundbreaking debut.
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The University of Arkansas’ School of Art will officially reopen its historic Fine Arts Center on April 16, 2026, following a $38 million restoration.
The 1951 modernist landmark, designed by noted architect Edward Durell Stone, once brought works by major artists such as Pablo Picasso and Edward Hopper to, at the time, a relatively small college town in the Ozarks.
Stone, a native Arkansan, also co-designed the original Museum of Modern Art with Philip L. Goodwin, the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi, India, and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. The Fine Arts Center at Arkansas translated international modernism with its Bauhaus-inspired approach to unite art, architecture, theatre and music in one building through a transparent gallery spine and modular teaching spaces — decades before interdisciplinary arts centers became common on university campuses.
John Blakinger, endowed associate professor and program director of art history in the School of Art, explores that original moment in his essay, “Making Arkansas Modern: An Exhibition of Contemporary Art in Edward Durell Stone’s Fine Arts Center,” written for a digital exhibition that will accompany the reopening.
Blakinger describes the inaugural show — which featured Hopper’s famous work Nighthawks and loans from the Museum of Modern Art and the Whitney Museum of American Art — as a deliberate effort to introduce midcentury modernism to a state rarely included in standard accounts of modern art and design.
At a time when many midcentury buildings face demolition or drastic alteration, the University of Arkansas chose preservation over replacement. The restoration, led by New York–based TenBerke in collaboration with Arkansas firm Miller Boskus Lack, removed decades of interior alterations, reopened Stone’s original sightlines and restored the building’s defining modernist transparency while upgrading it for contemporary use.
The reopening celebration will include the physical exhibition “Fine Arts First Years”, on view in the center’s teaching gallery from April 8 to July 10, 2026. Organized in collaboration with the University of Arkansas Special Collections Division with curation by Catherine Wallack, Special Collections archivist, the exhibition will revisit the spirit of the center’s inaugural show and the culture the building fosters among all arts disciplines.
Objects on display will include the building’s original ticket booth, designed by Stone; a midcentury modern chaise longue designed by Stone and manufactured by Fulbright Industries; materials documenting the inaugural exhibition; rarely seen paintings and sculpture by early Arkansas art faculty; and original correspondence and wonders from the period.
The restoration of the Fine Arts Center marks a milestone in the School of Art’s expansion over the past decade. In 2017, the University of Arkansas transformed its Department of Art into the School of Art following a landmark $120 million gift from the Walton Family Charitable Support Foundation — the largest gift ever made to a school of art in the United States. The investment expanded faculty, facilities and national visibility. The restoration of the Fine Arts Center now anchors that growth in the building that first defined the university’s arts vision.
"Fulbright College is proud to champion all forms of creative expression. We strive to build bridges across cultures, disciplines, and generations, turning understanding into connection and curiosity into transformation," said Lia Uribe, Fulbright College associate dean for the arts and humanities. "None of this would be possible without the generous support of the Walton Family Charitable Support Foundation. We're forever grateful for their continued investment to expand access to fine arts education."
“The Fine Arts Center was conceived as a place where the arts could converge under one roof, and that exchange remains central to how we educate today,” said Rachel Debuque, director of the School of Art. “Our students and faculty collaborate across disciplines — from public art mural projects and research in the Arkansas prairies to immersive technologies developed with colleagues in the sciences. In this way, the School of Art advances the Fine Arts Center’s vision: that the arts enrich academic journeys and strengthen Arkansas’ cultural life.”
The restoration was made possible through the support of the Walton Family Charitable Support Foundation, Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences and the University of Arkansas.
About the University of Arkansas Libraries: Located in the heart of campus, the David W. Mullins Library is the university’s main research library. Branch libraries include the Chemistry and Biochemistry Library, the Fine Arts Library, the Physics Library, and the Robert A. and Vivian Young Law Library. The Libraries provide access to more than 3.5 million volumes and more than 290,000 journals and offer research assistance, study spaces, printing and scanning, interlibrary loan and delivery services, and cultural exhibits and events. The Libraries’ Special Collections division acquires, preserves, and provides access to materials on Arkansas and the region, its customs and people, and its cultural, physical, and political climate. Visit the Libraries’ website at libraries.uark.edu to learn more about services and collections.
The Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences is the academic heart and soul of the University of Arkansas — where discovery, creativity, and curiosity meet to create a transformational education. Encompassing three schools, 16 departments, and numerous programs and research centers, Fulbright College connects the arts, humanities, natural sciences, and social sciences to advance knowledge, discovery, and serve Arkansas and the world. Discover more at fulbright.uark.edu.
Housed in the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences, the University of Arkansas School of Art offers undergraduate degrees and tuition-free graduate programs in art education, art history, graphic design and studio art, including ceramics, drawing, painting, photography, printmaking and sculpture. Formerly the Department of Art, the School of Art was established in 2017 following a transformative $120 million gift from the Walton Family Charitable Support Foundation. With additional support from the Windgate Foundation, the School of Art developed the Windgate Art and Design District, providing state-of-the-art facilities and strong partnerships with regional arts institutions. Learn more at art.uark.edu.
About the University of Arkansas: As Arkansas' flagship institution, the U of A provides an internationally competitive education in more than 200 academic programs. Founded in 1871, the U of A contributes more than $3 billion to Arkansas’ economy through the teaching of new knowledge and skills, entrepreneurship and job development, discovery through research and creative activity while also providing training for professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the U of A among the few U.S. colleges and universities with the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the U of A among the top public universities in the nation. See how the U of A works to build a better world at Arkansas Research and Economic Development News.
CONTACTS:
Kayla Crenshaw
Director of Communications and Chief of Staff
School of Art
Kaylac@uark.edu
Elizabeth Muscari
Assistant Director of Communications
School of Art
479-575-5550
eamuscar@uark.edu
.png)