Norton Simon Museum

Norton Simon Museum. The Norton Simon Museum is a premier art institution located in Pasadena, California, renowned for its exceptionally focused and high-quality collections of European art from the Renaissance to the 20th century and South and Southeast Asian art spanning two millennia. Founded by the industrialist and collector Norton Simon, the museum opened in 1969 and is celebrated for its masterpieces by artists such as Rembrandt, Francisco Goya, Vincent van Gogh, and Edgar Degas. Housed in a distinctive modernist building surrounded by a sculpture garden and reflecting pond, the museum offers an intimate and profound engagement with art history.

History

The museum's origins are deeply tied to the collecting passion of its namesake, Norton Simon, a prominent industrialist who led companies like Hunt's and Canada Dry. In the mid-1960s, facing financial difficulties, the Pasadena Art Museum, known for its focus on modern and contemporary art, sought a merger. Simon, who had amassed an extraordinary private collection, provided crucial funding and, in 1974, after a complex transition, the institution was re-founded as the Norton Simon Museum. This merger brought Simon's world-class holdings of Old Master paintings and Asian art into a public venue. Prior to this, Simon had also been a major lender to institutions like the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the National Gallery of Art. The museum has since been dedicated to preserving and presenting Simon's vision, with subsequent directors and curators, including former director Sara Campbell, carefully augmenting the collection within its established strengths.

Collections

The museum's holdings are divided into two principal areas: European art from the late medieval period to the mid-20th century, and the arts of South and Southeast Asia. The European collection features exceptional depth in Northern Renaissance and Baroque painting, with stellar examples by Lucas Cranach the Elder and Peter Paul Rubens. It holds a significant ensemble of works from the Spanish Golden Age, including profound paintings by Francisco de Zurbarán and Bartolomé Esteban Murillo. The collection of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist art is particularly renowned, featuring major canvases by Claude Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, and Paul Cézanne. The Asian collection, one of the finest in the United States, encompasses sculptures, paintings, and ritual objects from India, Nepal, Cambodia, and Thailand, illustrating the development of Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain artistic traditions.

Architecture and grounds

The museum building was originally designed by architects Ladd & Kelsey for the Pasadena Art Museum and opened in 1969, noted for its bold, curvilinear Brutalist form. After Norton Simon's involvement, the interior was extensively remodeled by famed architect Frank Gehry in the late 1990s to create more intimate, classical galleries suited to the Old Master paintings. The surrounding grounds were transformed into a serene landscape by designer Nancy Goslee Power, featuring a dramatic sculpture garden populated with works by major modern artists like Auguste Rodin, Henry Moore, and Barbara Hepworth. A large, lotus-filled reflecting pond, inspired by the Monet paintings in the collection, anchors the garden, creating a harmonious dialogue between art, architecture, and nature.

Notable works

Among the many masterpieces in the collection, several works have achieved iconic status. These include Rembrandt's penetrating portrait *Titus*, Van Gogh's vibrant *The Mulberry Tree*, and Degas's intimate sculpture *Little Dancer of Fourteen Years*. The museum holds an exceptional group of paintings by Goya, including the haunting *St. Jerome*. A cornerstone of the Asian collection is the monumental, 2nd-century Gupta period *Buddha Shakyamuni* from Mathura. Other highlights include Giovanni Battista Tiepolo's *The Triumph of Virtue and Nobility over Ignorance*, a quintessential example of Rococo grandeur, and Paul Gauguin's seminal Tahitian painting *Te Rerioa*.

Management and operations

The museum operates as a non-profit educational institution governed by a board of trustees, which has included members of the Simon family and community leaders. Day-to-day management is overseen by a director, with curatorial departments led by specialists in European and Asian art. The museum does not charge an admission fee for members or students but does have a general admission fee for the public, in line with policies at peer institutions like the J. Paul Getty Museum. Its operations are supported by an endowment, generous donations, and revenue from its well-regarded museum store. The institution maintains an active schedule of scholarly exhibitions, public lectures, and educational programs, often collaborating with universities such as the University of California, Los Angeles and the California Institute of Technology.