‘Figurative Masters’ on display at Ann Norton Sculpture Gardens in West Palm

A new exhibition in the recently restored Norton House of the Ann Norton Sculpture Gardens has brought the work of internationally renowned figurative artists to the Palm Beaches.

“Figurative Masters of the Americas” includes works from Andy Warhol, Diego Rivera, N. C. Wyeth and Thomas Hart Benton, and is on display through Feb. 12. The exhibition was created in partnership with Heather James Fine Art, whose senior curator Chip Tom cultivated the collection.

“It is such an honor and a privilege for me and for my whole team to collaborate with the Ann Norton Sculpture Gardens,” Tom said. “This is such a special place. It comes alive both inside and outside, and you feel all this history. It’s just been incredible to work with everyone here.”

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The two-story Norton House, a centerpiece of the gardens, is on the National Register of Historic Places and sits on the south side of the gardens at 253 Barcelona Road in West Palm Beach. The house, designed by architects Marion Sims Wyeth and Maurice Fatio, was the home of artist Ann Norton and her husband Ralph, the namesake of the Norton Museum of Art.

The house reopened in December after extensive restoration work led by North Palm Beach-based architect Timothy Hullihan. As part of the work, exhibit space inside the house was doubled.

“Our gardens are unique to the community with a historic home, Ann Norton’s Artist Studio and two-acre garden with Ann Norton’s monumental sculptures — all carrying the spirit of what we know Ann and Ralph Norton wanted to evolve for our cultural community,” said board Chairwoman Frances Fisher. “When we have an exhibit of this caliber, in this home, it’s not only a feather in the cap for the Ann Norton Sculpture Gardens but one that elevates our entire cultural community.”

Tom wanted to curate the exhibit to include artists from North, Central and South America, and the Caribbean, as a way of highlighting Florida’s status as “a melting pot of cultures,” he said.

“I was very much conscious of where the exhibition is, in West Palm Beach,” he said, noting that a third of the exhibit comes from collections in or with a connection to South Florida.

Included in the display is a portrait by Andy Warhol of his South Florida art dealer, Dorothy Blau. There also is a piece from South Florida-based Latin American artist Carlos Luna, Tom said.

“When I curate exhibitions, there are multiple layers of meaning behind the show,” he said. “Having the exhibition reflect the local community is really important to me.”

Through Tom’s focus on figurative art, he wanted to relate the story of the human condition, where figurative art typically focuses on representations of the human figure.

“It’s about capturing moments in our lives,” Tom said. “Moments of birth, of death, of joy. Moments of sadness. All the things that make up the human condition.”

With contemporary art, Tom said, the artists take a snapshot of contemporary culture: Rivera captured the political atmosphere of his time. Warhol took snapshots of American culture and society. Wyeth painted his observations of the early 20th century.

“It’s really interesting to take a look at a snapshot of what the world was like for these artists 100 years ago,” Tom said. “It’s the snapshots of history and the human condition that I think is why everyone can relate to the show.”

He also worked to bring a little of the gardens outside the house into the exhibition space, with paintings like Thomas Hart Benton’s “Planting (Spring Plowing),” which represents renewal and the spring cycle of life, Tom said.

“Even though it’s figurative work, there’s a lot of nature in the paintings,” he said.

He also worked to create dialogues between the artwork and artists. For example, a painting by Rufino Tamaya of his wife, Olga, gazes toward the Cubist woman in Wilfredo Lam’s “The Table.”

“When you see the two side-by-side, they’re totally relating to each other, and that’s the type of dialogue I’m trying to create,” Tom said.

In opening up the dialogue between paintings and creating that connection, Tom hopes it inspires those viewing the exhibition to have their own internal dialogues with the works, while also opening up to each other to share their thoughts about the paintings.

“The more dialogue we have, the better,” he said.

The gardens’ next exhibition is “Harry Benson Picturing History” with artist-in-residence Benson’s range of iconic photography through the years. It will run from Feb. 15 through the end of June.

If you go

What: “Figurative Masters of the Americas”

Where: The Norton House at the Ann Norton Sculpture Gardens, 253 Barcelona Road, West Palm Beach

When: Through Feb. 12. The gardens are open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday-Sunday

Cost: Free for members; $15 for adults; $10 for seniors; $7 for children and students; members of the military receive 20% off with valid ID

Information: 561-832-5328 or www.ansg.org

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: ‘Figurative Masters’ on display at Ann Norton Sculpture Gardens in West Palm