As the calendar turns from summer into fall, the Norton turns a new leaf, too. As you’ll see in our September “Around the Gallery” we’ll be hosting the R.W. Norton Art Gallery Conference in Art History, September 23-24. Read about the speakers who’ll be coming from across the country to present papers on the explorations of mind and body in art. Elsewhere in these pages, you can ride “Into the Sunset”, a look at our elegiac pieces of art of the American West. From the library, we thumb through our 1741 copy of The History of the Life of M. Tullius Cicero. In our botanical gardens you may stroll through plantings of our coleus that bridges in their color the two seasons of summer and fall. Learn about our Greco-Roman Tour, hear the voice of a soldier from the front lines in Korea, and much more.

Great sculptors lived at the turn of the 19th century, among them Auguste Rodin in France, and here in America, the Italian immigrant Attilio Piccirilli. The Norton displays eight works by Rodin, including Head of a Young Girl, and Piccirilli’s stunning Fragelina, in dazzling white marble. Around the Gallery takes you on a cool, summer stroll through the sculptures, and the lives of these artists. In these pages you’ll also learn of our special exhibit, Blossom II~Art of Flowers, on display through October 16. You’ll find out what’s blooming in our Southwest Garden; pick up tips from our landscape director, Kip Dehart, on how to furnish your garden shed; and preview our tours and special speakers for August and September. Around the Gallery is your guide to what’s new, what’s blooming, and how you can enjoy R.W. Norton Art Gallery.

Ready for a walk through a garden? Come take a look in our newsletter where we preview the new special exhibit Blossom II~Art of Flowers, July 12 – October 16, with 83 works of art celebrating a world of blooms and greenery. We’ll also tour some of the floral art in our own permanent collection, and then step outside to our botanical gardens for a look at a long-beloved summer flower—Rose of Sharon.  You’ll also learn a little vocabulary about flowers as the language of love.

Welcome to summer at the museum! This month in "Around the Gallery" we delve further into the mystery of our tapestries, crack open our rare volume of The Canterbury Tales, and admire the daylilies in our summer garden. We take you on a "'Round the World" walking tour, hear the voice of a Vietnam veteran, and announce the upcoming June 11 presentation by Dr. Gary Joiner, "Louisiana Dreams: Thoughts on Explorers and Cartographers." With Dr. Joiner, you'll explore streams and lands near and far through our exquisite rare map collection. We hope you find your way to the museum this summer.

Tapestries, tours, and a “new” gallery await you here in the newsletter and at the museum. We’ll give you a first look at our new and improved Russell Art Gallery, then stroll through a collection of Cuban art, and stop to admire ferns that grow beneath your feet and above your head in our new Maple Ridge Garden. While you learn what’s ready to be pruned in your own garden, we’ll whet your sweet tooth with a recipe from the Renaissance.Tapestries, tours, and a “new” gallery await you here in the newsletter and at the museum. We’ll give you a first look at our new and improved Russell Art Gallery, then stroll through a collection of Cuban art, and stop to admire ferns that grow beneath your feet and above your head in our new Maple Ridge Garden. While you learn what’s ready to be pruned in your own garden, we’ll whet your sweet tooth with a recipe from the Renaissance.

This month in Around the Gallery, we’ll give you a quick tour of our 40 acres of grounds and botanical gardens, but you really need to come see for yourself while thousands of azaleas and other spring flowers are blooming. Elsewhere in the newsletter you’ll learn about the artist Peter Moran, and sample some of the writing of Charles Marion Russell, whose autobiography is just one of 12,000 rare and first edition volumes in our library. Among other articles, you’ll read about our Greco-Roman Outdoor Tour, our 1st LSUS Fine Arts Symposium, both in April, and the continuing exhibition Great Masters of Cuban Art: 1800-1958. You’ll not want to miss these programs!

This month in the newsletter, read about our new, exciting exhibit, "Great Masters of Cuban Art: 1800-1958". From March 6 through June 5, more than 80 works of art spanning Cuba's artistic legacy are on display. You'll also learn about our First Saturday Tour on March 5, "Perils of Pigment," and our "Saturday Speaker Series" on March 12, featuring Seida Comesanas Sardinas, author of the Cuban art catalogue. The newsletter also announces the upcoming exhibit, "Blossom II: Art of Flowers ", July 12 to October 16. It's our second exhibition of approximately 60 paintings depicting and interpreting flowers. Flowers take center stage in our 40 acres of grounds and botanical gardens, with thousands of azaleas and other flowers opening late this month. Read about the season, as well as how to create a bee-friendly garden. We hope to see you in March!

Open up “Around The Gallery” and you’ll learn about the museum’s new look. We announce renovations that will aid in traffic flow, open up vistas to outside, and put a fresh face on two galleries. Also, you’ll learn about this month’s “First Saturday Tour” and “Saturday Speaker Series,” and find out what’s tap for March. We explore the story behind the story of Mother Goose’s Melody, look at sculpture and china depicting children, and travel to Oklahoma City to visit the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum. Saddle up!

Take a look at the new year in this month's "Around the Gallery." You'll learn about three special exhibitions coming in 2011, a new permanent display, and renovations that enhance your visitor experience in two major galleries. Elsewhere you'll hear a Louisiana accent. We feature artists William Buck, Will Hinds and Clementine Hunter, and a travel down to visit Audubon State Historic Site in St. Francisville. You'll also see camellias that brighten our winter garden, pick up tips on how to prune roses, learn about upcoming tours and speakers, and hear voices from our Oral History Project. Start your new year right here in "Around the Gallery".

This month "Around the Gallery" celebrates the traditions of Christmas in images and imagery, songs and stories that will resound through the museum this month. You'll learn about our Christmas Tour that blends art and stories. You'll hear the history behind treasures from our permanent collection, such as our 14th century Book of Hours and 19th century Russian icons that are on display in our special, month-long exhibition, Christmas: A Journey in Image and Word. You'll see what's on the program for our afternoon of song, Raising a Joyful Noise, and who'll be speaking to us in the Saturday Speaker Series, Chanting the Book of Hours. Hungry? See Art and Appetite for modern and vintage recipes of plum pudding. See what's blooming in the botanical gardens, learn how to buy works of art as gifts, and visit another great museum, Philbrook Museum of Art in Tulsa, that shares our love of art of the American West. We hope you enjoy browsing through Around the Gallery, but be sure to come visit us as the Norton celebrates the real reasons of the joy of this season.

Celebrate Thanksgiving with us in this banquet of features.  Among those seated around our table are members of the "First Family" of American art (the Peales), Ansel Adams, Charles Marion Russell, and sculptors (and brothers) Solon and Gutzon Borglum. Part of the feast comes from a favorite recipe from Gutzon, "Borglum's Mushroom Gravy". We're especially thankful for our neighbor, Barksdale Air Force Base. On November 13, William Lane Callaway, an Air Force historian, presents "Barksdale in the Beginning", a history of the base in its early years.  Great exercise after the feast comes November 6 with our First Saturday Tour, "Images of the Family".  Stroll through the fall color of our botanical gardens where the flowers of love, pansies, are in bloom. So are Encore Azaleas, taking a curtain call bow before hibernating until next spring.