Norton Museum of Art
Norton Museum of Art
14510 S. Olive Ave.
West Palm Beach,
FL
33401
P: 561 832 5196
From October 1 through April the Museum is open 7 days a week.
Hours Monday – Thursday: 10 am - 5 pm
Friday 10 am - 10 pm
Saturday 10 am - 5 pm
Sunday 11 am - 5 pm
From May 1 through September the Museum is ope
Through September 1, 2024
Rose B. Simpson: Journeys of Clay
Rose B. Simpson is an artist, a mother, and the daughter of a matrilineal line of ceramicists and potters spanning nearly 70 generations. The exhibition presents a comprehensive survey of the last decade of Rose B. Simpson’s artistic career. The show positions Simpson’s work in the greater context of family and womanhood, exploring the relationships between the artist and her maternal relatives and their influences on her work. A member of the Santa Clara Pueblo (Tewa: Kha-‘Po Owingeh) in New Mexico, Simpson combines her ancestral and contemporary knowledge to create mixed media sculptures using clay, organic found items, and mechanical hardware.
Through November 17, 2024
Cut Up/Cut Out: Photomontage and Collage
Cut Up/Cut Out: Photomontage and Collage explores the transformative power of deconstructing and recomposing images. This exhibition showcases the evolution of this artistic technique from its origins in Dada to its contemporary relevance. By examining works from the Norton’s collection and special loans, visitors can appreciate the diverse ways artists have utilized photomontage and collage to create new meanings and narratives.
Through January 26, 2025
Surroundings: Video Encounters of Nature
Surroundings: Video Encounters of Nature presents a cinematic exploration of the natural world and its delicate balance with human activity. By focusing on the work of three contemporary artists, the exhibition offers a critical lens on climate change and its impact on young people. Through immersive video installations, viewers are invited to connect with the environment on a profound level, fostering a sense of urgency and responsibility for the planet’s future.
Beginning with Donna Conlon’s (July 27 – September 22) From the Ashes (De las cenizas), a closeup encounter with a hummingbird reminds viewers of life’s fragility and humans’ impact on the natural world. In Carolina Caycedo’s (September 28 – November 24) Esto no es Agua/This Is Not Water, Las Damas waterfall in southern Colombia comes to life in a kaleidoscopic dance, restoring a sense of agency to the body of water. The exhibition concludes with Nadia Huggins’ Circa (November 30 – January 26), 2025no future, an interrogation of the notions of displacement and free will through the marine environment. Presented in eight-week-long installations, Surroundings engulfs viewers in textures, movement, and forces witnessed in nature, creating a cinematic experience for all audiences.
The Norton Museum of Art was founded in 1941 by Ralph Hubbard Norton (1875-1953) and his wife Elizabeth Calhoun Norton (1881-1947). Norton was an industrialist who headed the Acme Steel Company in Chicago. He and his wife began collecting to decorate their home, but then he became interested in art for its own sake and formed a sizable collection of paintings and sculpture. In 1935, Mr. Norton semi-retired, and the couple began to spend more time in the Palm Beaches. They contemplated what to do with their art collection and eventually decided to found their own museum in West Palm Beach, to give South Florida its first such institution. In 1940, construction began on the Norton Gallery and School of Art located between South Olive Avenue and South Dixie Highway in West Palm Beach. Mr. Norton commissioned Marion Sims Wyeth of the distinguished firm of Wyeth, King & Johnson to design the Museum. The Art Deco building opened to the public on February 8, 1941. Norton continued to add to his collection until his death in 1953, and the works that he and his wife gave the Museum form the core of the institution’s collection today.
The Museum’s permanent collection now consists of more than 8,200 works in five curatorial departments: European, American, Chinese, Contemporary, and Photography. In 2013, with Florida’s population dramatically increasing and with Norton Trustees seeing the need for more exhibition and education space, the Board decided to embark on a bold, visionary Museum expansion, enlisting the renowned London-based architectural firm of Foster + Partners to design a new building.