Norton Simon Museum

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''This article is for the Norton Simon Museum in California. See this link for the Norton Museum of Art in West Palm Beach, Florida.

The museum entrance hall

The museum garden and building exterior

The Norton Simon Museum is an art museum located in Pasadena, California. It was previously known by several other names, such as the Pasadena Art Institute. The collections include European paintings, sculpture, tapestry and some remarkable sculpture from South Asia. Outside gardens also house sculptures as well as a small lake. It is located along the route of the Tournament of Roses Parade and its distinctive brown tile exterior can be seen in the background on television.

The museum features a theater which plays various videos throughout the day and hosts several musical events a year, including concerts by the group Southwest Chamber Music.

[edit] History

The Pasadena Art Museum was completed in 1969, designed by Pasadena architects Thornton Ladd and John Kelsey. The exterior is covered with 115,000 brown tiles made by Edith Heath. ^[1] By the early 1970s, due to an ambitious schedule of progressive art exhibits and a new building project, was experiencing extreme financial hardships. Since the mid-1960s, industrialist Norton Simon had become known as one of the pre-eminent art collectors in the world. Simon was interested in a permanent location for his growing collection of over 4,000 objects. In 1974, the museum and Simon came to an agreement where Simon absorbed the museum's debts and became responsible for the collection and building projects. The museum was renamed to the Norton Simon Museum after most of the private collection was donated.

In 1995, the museum began a major renovation by architect Frank Gehry. The redesign resulted in more intimate galleries, improved lighting, increased rotating exhibition space and an entire floor devoted to asian art. The gardens were redesigned by Nancy Goslee Power to house the 20th century sculpture collection. The new Norton Simon Theater was the final element of the renovation, designed by Arthur Gensler Jr. & Associates Inc., and is used for lectures, film, dance performances and concerts. ^[2]

[edit] References

^ Chang, Jade (2005). Art/Shop/Eat Los Angeles. Somerset Books, 90-98. ISBN 1905131062.
^ Campbell, Sara; Knoke, C., & Williams, G. (2003). Handbook of the Norton Simon Museum.. Pasadena, California: Norton Simon Museum., 128. ISBN 0-9726681-1-1-X.