Norton Museum of Art Unveils New Exhibits for Summer 2025
By Maryam Babar
The Norton Museum of Art, Florida’s largest art museum, announced the arrival of two new exhibitions for this summer in West Palm Beach.
The museum, which has over 1,000 paintings and sculptures, will unveil exhibition Veiled Presence: The Hidden Mothers and Sara VanDerBeek from Jun. 14 to Nov. 30, and the collection for The Virtue of Vice: The Art of Social Commentary from July 12 to Jan. 4, 2026.
Both exhibits have lasting messages engraved within the art, with the first exhibit representing Victorian themes of the erasure of caregiving, motherhood and grief, and the second representing artists’ appeal towards social society to express themselves.
“Regardless of when or where they worked or what they addressed, artists used equal parts skill and wit in their creations,” said Regina Palm, the Norton Museum’s Harold and Anne Berkley Smith Senior Curator of Modern Art, and assembler of The Virtue of Vice exhibit.
The first exhibition displays both the positives and negatives of 19th century photography through the collection of Lee Marks and John C. DePrez Jr., as the photographs not only accurately portray a mother caring for her child, but the concealment of her actions, whether it was through textiles, furniture or being removed from the image.
Renowned artist Sara VanDerBeek also brings a more contemporary perspective, by exploring the “intertwined histories of women in photography” in the past and present, according to a press release.
“For more than a century, these figures’ stories have remained untold, shrouded in the photographer’s studio work,” said Lauren Richman, the museum’s William and Sarah Ross Soter Senior Curator of Photography. “Pairing these vernacular photographs with works by Sara VanDerBeek offers an opportunity to imagine a narrative for these mostly woman subjects, and reflect upon broader themes of visibility, labor, and care, and their contemporary form.”
The second exhibit displays over 25 works on paper that express society’s hidden topics, such as poverty, sexual exploitation, drinking and gambling. Artists such as Francisco de Goya, Peggy Bacon and Robert Henri are featured, with them using humor or dark narratives to enhance their visions and shed light “on subjects often kept in the shadows.”
“No matter the period, technique, or style in which they have created, works on paper, like those seen here, have long served as a vehicle for the satirical, often biting, and sometimes harsh commentary of artists, compelling us to face realities we would sooner disregard,” Palm said. “Centuries later, many of their observations remain relatable.”
For more info, visit norton.org or follow the museum Instagram at @nortonmuseumofart.
