What One Museum Founder Loved About South Florida
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.
By Marie Penny, Archivist, Norton Museum of Art
When Ralph Norton first visited the Palm Beaches during the turn of the century, he likened the region to paradise. Even the quality of the light had a profound effect on him. One can imagine the impact of the tropical sun, wind, and sea on someone arriving from the Midwest. Norton knew that West Palm Beach would make a great home for his art and relocated the collection there in 1941 for the “education and enjoyment of the public.”
In the image below, Founders Ralph and Elizabeth Norton stand in front of their newly purchased home on Barcelona Road in 1935. The Nortons commissioned Marion Sims Wyeth to redesign the Mediterranean Revival style structure into the modern California Monterey style. The house is now the Ann Norton Sculpture Gardens.
What do you love about South Florida or where you call home?
Learn more about the Norton’s and the history of the museum and collection here.
