[photo credit: Norton Simon Museum]
As the museum celebrates its golden anniversary, rare archival photographs reveal the evolution from those early days to an established cultural destination.
“Retrospect: 50 Years at the Norton Simon Museum,” running through January 12 in the Focus Gallery, offers not only a reflective view of the past but also one of the horizon for decades to come.
The exhibition captures the initial installation of Simon’s collections, views of galleries from the late 1970s, and vignettes of the museum’s earliest staff.
The anniversary celebration coincides with the museum’s Exterior Improvement Project, which includes restoration of the tile façade, renovation of the sculpture garden, and upgraded café seating and pathways.
These changes echo the renovations of the interior and gardens in the late 1990s that ushered in expanded hours, new scholarship and greater community engagement.
The retrospective traces three distinct sections: the 1975 name change from the Pasadena Art Museum, a chronology of major acquisitions and exhibitions, and documentation of the building’s evolution.
Companion programming includes specialized tours such as “50 Years: Norton Simon, the Collector” on August 1, and “50 Years: South and Southeast Asian Art.”
The celebration also features “50 Years: Women Artists in the Norton Simon Museum Collection,” which opened May 24.
The Norton Simon Museum is open Thursday through Monday from noon to 5 p.m., with extended hours until 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
General admission is $20 for adults and $15 for seniors; members, students and visitors under 18 enter free.
“Retrospect: 50 Years at the Norton Simon Museum” will run from Friday, Feb. 14, through Sunday, Jan. 12, from noon to 5 p.m. Thursday through Monday (extended hours until 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday). Norton Simon Museum, 411 W. Colorado Blvd., in Pasadena. For more call (626) 449-6840 or visit https://www.nortonsimon.org/exhibitions/2020-2029/retrospect-50-years-at-the-norton-simon-museum/. Tickets: $20 for adults, $15 for seniors; free for members, students and visitors under 18.
