Norton Simon Museum- A gem

-

 

Rock Form (Porthcurno) by Barbara Hepworth

Took the opportunity to visit the Norton Simon Museum in Pasedena recently, and it was well worth the trip! 

This museum appears to be tucked away in a lush environment as you drive up the hill to park, (which is free. Refreshing!) The first impression one might get is that it is a relatively modest structure but the walk into the building is lined with quite a few sculptures by Rodin and other artists. This is a hint at the surprisingly extensive collection of the luminaries of art in the Norton Simon Museum. 


   We opted to begin our visit in the sculpture garden.

King and Queen by Henry Moore

Moving inside, we found multiple pieces of art from very familiar names as well as a healthy sampling of work that spanned history.


From Rembrandt van Rijn, to Degas, to Picasso, to Helen Frankenthaler, and more, this collection has something to suit everyone's taste. But let me highlight a few pieces that stood out to me, in the hopes of sparking an interest in visiting this museum.

First, for color inspiration these three landscapes caught my eye:



(l) The Mulberry Tree, Vincent Van Gogh 
(r) Lower Main Street, Murnau, Gabriele Műnter
(bottom) Autumn: The Chestnut Gatherers, George Lacombe

 I was impressed by the patterns and craftsmanship of this chess set:


These two pieces, with the same basic composition, are expertly placed across the room from each other, subtly inviting a comparison. This placement instantly draws attention to each artist's unique style and highlights the contrast between Degas' delicate treatment of the ballet dancer and Lautrec's energetic treatment of the circus performer.

(l) The Star: Dancer en Pointe, Edgar Degas 
(r) At the Cirque Fernando, Rider on a White Horse, Henri de Toulouse- Lautrec

I was amazed to see that this piece by George Romney was painted in 1786, it has such a vigorous, modern sensibility about it.


Lady Hamilton as Madea, George Romney

There are so many more pieces I could share with you, but I let you discover them for yourselves. If you can't make it in person, check out the Norton Simon collection through this link:

Happy travels!







Comments

Post a Comment

Popular Posts

Ooops, I did it again

-
Image
You know when you make a mistake and you end up thinking " Man, I really should have known better!"? I recently experienced that moment when I took my latest finish out of the wash, hung it to dry, and later found that the backing I used had bled through to the front of the quilt. Maybe it wouldn't have been so bad if it had covered the entire quilt, but in this case I have a strip of a stronger color on one side of the back: Heartbreaking to think that after all that time and effort, the piece was ruined just because I forgot to turn to the cold/cold setting for the delicate cycle on the washing machine. But then it occurred to me to "put it out there." I posted the problem on Instagram and got back several suggestions. The most popular solution was Dawn dish soap. And I'm happy to report I've met with success!!! It did require some persistence though. First, I tried applying Dawn to the affected areas and then putting it through the wash with a bit of ...
Read more

A Follow Up

-
Image
Shifting Contour When last you heard of this quilt it had been saved from the scourge of fabric bleeding. But I never posted the whole quilt. So here it is.  I have called it Shifting Contour because, in my mind, the patterned fabric plays the role of the background on the left side of the piece. On the right side, the patterned fabric moves to the foreground and becomes a solid shape against the cream background. It is an experiment with the concept of negative space. This year our local guild has taken the lead from our parent organization, the Modern Quilt Guild, and focused on a specific topic each quarter. They covered categories which can be found in the annual QuiltCon quilt show: modern traditionalism, applique, negative space, and minimalism.  I found defining these terms has been really helpful, as sometimes it's difficult to identify why a certain quilt is in a category, in which category a quilt "belongs" when entering it, and even how to deliberately incorpo...
Read more

Q=A=Q 2025 Opening

-
Image
  The first weekend in November was the opening of the annual Quilts=Art=Quilts show at the Schweinfurth Art Center in Auburn, New York.  Q=A=Q Opening Night The show includes seventy quilts created by fifty three artists from around the world, including  Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, Hungary, Kuwait, Switzerland, and the US. This is the second year that I've been honored to be juried into Q=A=Q.  It requires a bit of effort to get to upstate New York on opening night; there are no direct flights from our location. So I'm doubly grateful for the support of family who joined me to take in the experience.  This is very different from a large quilt convention. While you can get up close to the work at any kind of quilt show, the more intimate setting of a gallery brings a unique perspective. The environment elevates a quilt to the status of art. I love that there are so many ways to present my work. I know this is a relatively new phenomenon and it reflects c...
Read more