Norton’s Masterpiece of the Month: August through October

The Norton Museum of Art’s Masterpiece of the Month program continues with two more installments, coming to a close October 26. Spotlighting major works by iconic artists and selected by museum curators from private collections, this program allows museum visitors to view rarely exhibited works as well as attend curator-led talks that dissect the installation, exploring the significance and context of the work. Here’s a look at the two last installments:

On display from August 7 to September 7, the Norton will present a piece from one of the most prolific and famous artists of the twentieth century, Pablo Picasso’s Tête de femme from 1952. The famed Spanish artist had produced numerous “tête de femme” works—whose name translates to “head of a woman”—in a number of mediums and artistic movements. The 1952 masterpiece on display is of Françoise Gilot, Picasso’s companion and lover from 1946 to 1953, and is an apt representation of his signature cubist style. Curatorial Associate Jerry Dobrick will lead the Curator’s Conversation on August 7 at 6:30 p.m. and 7:15 p.m. during the Norton’s Art After Dark event.

 

Concluding the Norton’s Masterpiece of the Month program for 2014 will be an 800-year-old conical bowl from the Northern Song/Jin dynasties. On display from September 4 through October 26, this porcelain stoneware bowl dates back to the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, when artisans at the Ding kilns in northern China created molds with decorative motifs that allowed them to essentially mass-produce their wears. Impressed with the design of phoenix and flowers, the bowl on display gives museumgoers a rare opportunity to see how art merged with utilitarian needs in the middle ages and how this practice, though dating back a millennia, is still widely used today for an array of industries and products. The curator of Chinese art, Laurie Barnes, will host a series of Curator’s Conversations on September 4 at 6:30 p.m. and 7:15 p.m. and September 6 at 1 p.m. during the Norton’s annual Moon Festival celebration.

• Admission to the Norton is free for all Florida residents on Thursdays through September 4.
• For more information, visit norton.org.

Note: the museum will be closed for gallery reinstallations from September 8-22.