A small find in Pasadena.

No matter where I travel, there’s something interesting to see. Pasadena was the latest destination for exploration. A friend recommended a trip to the Norton Simon Museum. 

Being a fan of the visual arts, this small museum with a collection of Asian and European art housed in a contemporary building with a stately sculpture garden turned out to be a pleasant surprise nestled on the edge of town just a breath away from the Ventura 134 highway in Pasadena, California.

Norton Simon (1907 – 1993) was an entrepreneur, industrialist, and philanthropist who, through mergers and acquisitions, built a corporation that included Hunt-Wesson Foods, McCall’s Publishing, Max Factor cosmetics, and Avis Car Rental. His business prowess allowed him the financial freedom to build a substantial private collection of visual artworks worldwide. The museum building has an eclectic history, first named the Pasadena Art Institute. The Pasadena Museum of Modern Art, and finally, after a renovation and a merger of collections in 1975, became the Norton Simon Museum.

Upon entering the building, scores of Degas sculptures are placed on pedestals dotting the interior of several of the European galleries. Female dancers in la grande arabesque resemble Olympic ice dancers with arms outstretched in front of their bodies and one leg held high behind with a pointed toe. I’ve never seen such an extensive collection of Degas all at one venue—not even in Paris. The Simon collection includes Degas’ bronze, The Little Fourteen-Year-Old Dancer, first presented in wax at the sixth Impressionist Exhibition in 1881. It’s impressive!

Although there are galleries of Asian collections, I focused on European art, enjoying many works from old favorites like Pissarro, Matisse, van Gogh, and Picasso. 

One of my favorite finds was the painting by Vincent van Gogh, The Mulberry Tree, painted on canvas in oil. The image is approximately 21″ x 25″ with a tree painted smack dab in the picture plane’s center (vertically and horizontally). From a design standpoint, it’s a faux pas. However, the painting isn’t about design perfection; it’s about the environment and capturing the illusive character of the wind. 

Multi-colored grasses bending and branches stretching to the heavens, implying movement throughout the canvas. 

The paint is thick and most likely required years to dry, considering the amount of color raked on the canvas. Van Gogh was a master of using paint and whirling it into a story.  

Discovery is the excitement of finding something new in an unexpected place and enjoying it. Norton Simon Museum is a gem of a collection on the edge of Pasadena awaiting your discovery.

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