History
In the early 1920's, Richard W. Norton (1886-1940) became one of the discoverers of the Rodessa Oil Field in north Louisiana . Over time, Mr. Norton's wife and son began to amass a significant collection of fine art. In 1946, to honor Mr. Norton and for the benefit of the community, Richard W. Norton, Jr. (1919-1974) and his mother, Mrs. Richard W. Norton (1886-1975) created the R.W. Norton Art Foundation. In turn, the Foundation eventually established the R.W. Norton Art Gallery, basing its initial collection upon donations from the acquisitions of the Nortons. Today, due to the on-going efforts of the Board of Control and the Foundation's work, the R.W. Norton Art Gallery's offerings continue to expand, grow, and contribute to their community.
The Building
When the building for the R.W. Norton Art Gallery was originally planned, it was determined to use a contemporary design that would be light, open, and possess the potential for expansion. The resulting museum opened to the public in 1966 and presently contains twenty four exhibition rooms. The long-range plans of the founders were realized when an expanding collection made necessary the addition of a south wing which opened in 1990 and a north wing, which opened in 2003. Visitors with physical disabilities will find easy entrance to the building as there are no steps from the curb to the front entrance and no stairways inside the Norton on the main museum level. Wheelchairs are available for loan at no charge to visitors for use indoors.
Mission Statement
The mission of R. W. Norton Art Gallery is to collect, preserve, study, exhibit, and stimulate appreciation for and advance knowledge of works of art and literature. The R. W. Norton Art Gallery manifests this commitment by establishing, preserving, and documenting a permanent collection that primarily but not exclusively reflects 19th and 20th century American and European art; by presenting exhibitions, tours and educational community programs; by sustaining a research library for scholarship; by supporting publications of intellectual merit; and by encouraging the exchange of ideas and art with other cultural venues in the local and regional area. Central to R. W. Norton Art Gallery’s mission is the encouragement of an understanding and enjoyment of art and literature by the diverse local, national, and international audiences that it serves.
Collections
The Norton’s permanent collection is quite extensive, including more than 400 paintings by more than 100 artists from Renaissance Old Masters to modernist iconoclasts and contemporary neo-realists. In addition, it possesses hundreds of sculptures ranging from miniatures and maquettes to life-size pieces in media including bronze, silver, marble, and wood. Among the oldest works in the Norton are six tapestries dating from the 16th century which once graced the palace of a King of France, while decorative arts are also featured throughout the museum, including works in porcelain, pressed and blown glass, and 18th and 19th century silver.
Along the way, the Norton has gathered representative artists and works from a variety of nations and eras. The European Collection includes periods and styles ranging from works by Jacob van Ruisdael and Meyndert Hobbema from the golden age of Dutch landscape painting to 19th century artistic icons like Mary Cassatt and Auguste Rodin. The Norton’s American Collection covers the colonial period to the present and contains particularly outstanding examples from the Hudson River School and major “Western” icons Frederic Remington andCharles Marion Russell. In addition, the Norton boasts a substantial research library consisting of approximately 10,000 books and also housing the museum’s Rare and Antiquarian Book Collection, the crowning gem of which is one of John James Audubon's very rare double elephant folios of The Birds of America.
