We visited the Norton Simon Museum the day after Thanksgiving. We were greeted by a security man who called us “kids” and I thanked him to which he said something like “you can act like kids if you want to.” He asked us if we’d like advice on the museum. Sure, why not? He proceeded to give us a quickie chronological tour motioning to where to start. It was very interesting and it was nice of him to offer that advice but we chose to just meander and we had a marvelous time. The first gallery contains Rodin sculptures at the entrance including the famous The Thinker(not the original):
We started in the 17th-18th Centuries section and saw pieces from Rembrandt and Goya and others I don’t recall. I studied Goya while a student in Madrid and I’d know his paintings anywhere.
We moved on to the 19th century followed by the 20th century. Each century has its own section and this is where we spent the bulk of our time. We saw Degas, Renoir, Van Gogh, Rivera and Matisse. There is a lot of Degas with portraits as well as sculptures and I’m a huge fan. First a gallery of Degas and this is only a representation, not the entirety of the Degas at the Norton Simon.
Next a small gallery with Picasso. There was a woman standing in front of Picasso’s portrait Woman with a Book whose outfit closely matched the colors in that portrait so I took her photo as she gazed at the painting.
Here are the rest of the photos from the 19th and 20th centuries including Van Gogh, Renoir, Monet, Rivera, Matisse and a few others.
We ended our day with a tour of the newly renovated sculpture garden and it is just lovely! Did you know that Renoir also created sculptures? I did not so I was surprised to find one in this sculpture garden. At one point we could see the bleachers for the Rose Parade. You see the museum during the parade on New Year’s Day as it heads down Colorado Boulevard.
We really enjoyed our time at the museum and I highly recommend it. You can find more information at the link below.
travels with toby 