NORTON MUSEUM OF ART INC

EXHIBITIONSIN 2023-24, THE NORTON MUSEUM OF ART WAS PLEASED TO PRESENT A VARIETY OF OFFERINGS DESIGNED TO CONNECT VISITORS TO MEANINGFUL EXPERIENCES WITH ART. THE SEASON'S SUCCESS WAS REALIZED THROUGH A DYNAMIC SCHEDULE OF EXHIBITIONS AND A DIVERSE CALENDAR OF ENRICHING PROGRAMS. LAST YEAR, THE NORTON WELCOMED THE PUBLIC WITH 18 SPECIAL EXHIBITIONS AND COLLECTION-BASED PRESENTATIONS, EACH DRAWING FROM THE MUSEUM'S FIVE CURATORIAL AREAS. EXHIBITIONS EXPLORED A WIDE RANGE OF THEMES, HISTORIES, CULTURAL NARRATIVES, AND MODES OF SELF-EXPRESSION, SPURRING AN OVERWHELMING PUBLIC RESPONSE FROM VISITORS OF ALL AGES AND BACKGROUNDS. AN OVERARCHING THEMATIC FOCAL POINT ACROSS THE SEASON'S EXHIBITIONS WAS THE ROLE AN ARTIST PLAYS IN CAPTURING HISTORY FROM THE LENS OF A CAMERA TO THE STROKE OF A BRUSH. THIS THEME WAS EXAMINED THROUGH TWO MAJOR EXHIBITIONS IN THE FALL OF 2023, BOTH OF WHICH UNDERSCORED THE MUSEUM'S EFFORTS TO BRING RENOWNED ART FROM NOTABLE NATIONAL INSTITUTIONS AND COLLECTIONS TO WEST PALM BEACH. THE FIRST HEADLINING EXHIBITION OF THE SEASON WAS ARTISTS IN MOTION: IMPRESSIONIST AND MODERN MASTERPIECES FROM THE PEARLMAN COLLECTION, CO-ORGANIZED BY THE PRINCETON UNIVERSITY ART MUSEUM. ARTISTS IN MOTION FEATURED APPROXIMATELY 40 PAINTINGS, SCULPTURES, AND WORKS ON PAPER THAT DELVED INTO THE INTERSECTING LIVES OF THE MOST CELEBRATED LATE 19TH- AND EARLY 20TH-CENTURY EUROPEAN ARTISTS COLLECTED BY HENRY PEARLMAN (1895-1974). THE SECOND MAJOR EXHIBITION, CO-ORGANIZED BY THE PORTLAND MUSEUM OF ART, WAS PRESENCE: THE PHOTOGRAPHY COLLECTION OF JUDY GLICKMAN LAUDER, A REMARKABLE SELECTION OF 20TH CENTURY PHOTOGRAPHY DRAWN FROM THE HOLDINGS OF ARTIST AND PHILANTHROPIST JUDY GLICKMAN LAUDER. DURING THE SPRING AND SUMMER MONTHS, THE NORTON HOSTED THREE MAJOR EXHIBITIONS TO ANCHOR THE TAIL-END OF THE 2023-24 SEASON. THE FIRST SET OF EXHIBITIONS SHOWCASED THE WORK OF TWO LIVING WOMAN ARTISTS: THE 9TH RECOGNITION OF ART BY WOMEN PRESENTATION, ROSE B. SIMPSON: JOURNEYS OF CLAY, WHICH FEATURED THE INDIGENOUS ARTIST'S CERAMIC WORKS AND TOUCHED UPON THEMES OF CULTURAL IDENTITY, SURVIVAL, AND MATRILINEALITY; AND NORA MAITE NIEVES: CLOUDS IN THE EXPANDED FIELD, AN EXHIBITION DRAWING INSPIRATION FROM THE ARTIST'S CARIBBEAN ROOTS AND PRESENTED IN CONJUNCTION WITH HER SIX-WEEK RESIDENCY AT THE NORTON. THE THIRD AND FINAL EXHIBITION, THE PAPER TRAIL: 500 YEARS OF PRINTS FROM THE JONATHAN "JACK" FROST COLLECTION, HIGHLIGHTED 75 WORKS FROM OVER 50 RENOWNED PRINTMAKERS, CELEBRATING NEARLY FIVE CENTURIES OF ARTISTIC ACHIEVEMENT AND INNOVATION ACROSS EUROPE AND THE UNITED STATES. IN ADDITION TO THESE SPECIAL EXHIBITIONS, THE SEASON ALSO INCLUDED A SLATE OF PERMANENT COLLECTION-BASED PRESENTATIONS THAT SPOTLIGHTED THE MUSEUM'S FIVE CURATORIAL DEPARTMENTS. THE CALENDAR OF EXHIBITIONS INCLUDED: PERSONAL SPACE: ON PHOTOGRAPHY AND BEING (DECEMBER 2023), CUT UP/CUT OUT: PHOTOMONTAGE FROM THE COLLECTION (JUNE 2024), AND ELLEN GRAHAM: UNSCRIPTED (MARCH 2024), ALL MULTIMODAL EXHIBITIONS EXPLORING HOW ARTISTS EXPERIMENT WITH PHOTOGRAPHY AND REPRESENTATION; SYMBOLIC MESSAGES IN CHINESE ANIMAL PAINTINGS (OCTOBER 2023), LANDSCAPES INSPIRED BY OLD MASTERS, AND DRAGONS: COMMANDERS OF RAIN (AUGUST 2024), EXHIBITIONS EXPLORING HOW CHINESE ARTISTS WERE INSPIRED BY THE NATURAL WORLD; AND TWO REMARKABLE LONG-TERM LOANS FEATURED IN THE NORTON'S SPECIAL GUESTS SERIES FROM THE HISPANIC SOCIETY OF AMERICA (JOAQUN SOROLLA Y BASTIDA'S BEACHING THE BOAT (AFTERNOON LIGHT), 1903) AND THE LEIDEN COLLECTION (JACOBUS VREL'S INTERIOR WITH A SICK WOMAN BY A FIREPLACE, CIRCA 1654-1662), RESPECTIVELY.ABOVE AND BEYOND THE CURATORIAL CALENDAR, THE MUSEUM'S LEARNING AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT DEPARTMENT WAS ALSO INVOLVED IN PRESENTING ARTWORK IN THE CHRIS AND BERNARD MARDEN COMMUNITY GALLERY TO SHOWCASE THE TALENT OF LOCAL YOUTH THROUGH TWO THEMED, CURRICULUM-FOCUSED EXHIBITIONS: NATURE UNSEEN (JANUARY 2024), THE NORTON'S SECOND ANNUAL JURIED ART EXHIBITION IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE PALM BEACH COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT, WHICH INVITED ART EDUCATORS FROM MORE THAN 50 AREA SCHOOLS AND THEIR STUDENTS TO PARTICIPATE; AND DIMENSIONS OF IDENTITY (JUNE 2024), AN EXHIBITION FEATURING WORKS FROM STUDENTS AGED 5-18 IN THE NORTON'S AFTERSCHOOL ARTS OUTREACH PROGRAM, A CREATIVE YOUTH DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVE THAT SERVICES COMMUNITIES ACROSS PALM BEACH COUNTY THROUGH ENGAGING ART EXPERIENCES. COMMUNITY EXHIBITIONS IN THE MARDEN GALLERY ARE A TESTAMENT TO THE NORTON'S ONGOING COMMITMENT TO ACCESSIBILITY AND INCLUSION, OFFERING A SPACE FOR STUDENTS AND FAMILIES TO GATHER AND CELEBRATE THE ART ON VIEW.

ACQUISITIONS AND CONSERVATIONAS A COLLECTING INSTITUTION, THE NORTON IS ACTIVELY ENGAGED IN STEWARDING ITS PERMANENT COLLECTION THROUGH CONSERVATION AND ENHANCING ITS HOLDINGS THROUGH ONGOING ACQUISITION. IN 2023-24, THE MUSEUM'S WORKS OF ART COMMITTEE APPROVED 172 ACQUISITIONS, INCLUDING SIGNIFICANT PAINTINGS, PHOTOGRAPHS, AND WORKS ON PAPER. THESE ADDITIONS-SOME PROMISED, OTHERS OUTRIGHT AND PURCHASED-HAVE HELPED INTRODUCE NEW, WORLD CLASS WORKS OF ART TO THE NORTON'S COLLECTION, WHICH NOW TOTALS 8,620. IN AN EFFORT TO SHARE ITS RESOURCES WITH OTHER MUSEUMS ACROSS THE NATION, THE NORTON LOANED 7 TOTAL WORKS OF ART FROM THE PERMANENT COLLECTION LAST YEAR. FURTHER, THE MUSEUM ALSO WELCOMED 351 OBJECTS FROM PARTNER MUSEUMS TO ENHANCE THE SEASON'S SPECIAL EXHIBITIONS AND PRESENTATIONS. NOTABLE ACQUISITIONS ACCESSIONED TO THE COLLECTION INCLUDE: UNTITLED (1976), A REMARKABLE BLACK-AND-WHITE PHOTOGRAPH BY AMERICAN AUTO-PORTRAITIST FRANCESA WOODMAN; DRAGON-DECORATED CIRCULAR BOX (CIRCA 907 - EARLY 1000S), A PRECIOUS AND RARE CHINESE STONEWARE BOX FROM THE SONG DYNASTY; AND THE CARDINAL (1964), THE FIRST EXAMPLE OF A WORK BY AMERICAN FEMINIST ARTIST JUDY CHICAGO TO ENTER THE NORTON'S PERMANENT COLLECTION. THE NORTON CONTINUES TO MONITOR ITS COLLECTION WITH FREQUENT EXAMINATION AND CONSERVATION TREATMENTS THAT ADHERE TO INDUSTRY BEST PRACTICES. ONE MAJOR AND SUCCESSFUL CONSERVATION EFFORT COMPLETED IN 2023-24 IS AMERICAN SCULPTOR LOUISE NEVELSON'S NIGHT WALL VI (1976). THIS MONUMENTAL ALUMINUM SCULPTURE HAD BEEN IN STORAGE SINCE THE NORTON ACQUIRED IT IN 2006 AND HAD NEVER BEEN PUBLICLY DISPLAYED AT THE MUSEUM DUE TO ITS POOR CONDITION. CONSERVATION OF THE WORK ADDRESSED SIGNIFICANT STRUCTURAL REPAIRS, TREATED SURFACE CORROSION AND RUST, AND COATED THE WORK, ENSURING IT CAN BE SAFELY AND INDEFINITELY EXHIBITED AT THE MAIN ENTRANCE OF THE MUSEUM'S 37,200 SQUARE-FOOT SCULPTURE GARDEN. TODAY, NIGHT WALL VI IS FULLY RESTORED AND HAS JOINED THE COMPANY OF 13 OTHER CELEBRATED ARTISTS IN THE GARDEN - SUCH AS KEITH HARING, ANTONY GORMLEY, FRANZ WEST, AND FERNAND LEGER, AMONG OTHERS - AND NOW PROUDLY STANDS AS ONE OF TWO WOMAN ARTISTS REPRESENTED IN THIS SPACE (ALONGSIDE JENNY HOLZER). THIS IS JUST ONE EXAMPLE OF HOW ONGOING CONSERVATION IS CRITICAL TO THE HEALTH AND LONGEVITY OF THE NORTON'S PERMANENT COLLECTION: THESE EFFORTS ENSURE THE PRESERVATION OF CULTURAL HERITAGE FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS AND ENABLE THE PRESENTATION OF A WIDER DIVERSITY OF WORKS FOR PUBLIC ACCESS AND ENJOYMENT TODAY.