In the early 1920's, Richard W. Norton (1886-1940) became one of the discoverers of the Rodessa Oil Field in north Louisiana . Over time, Mr. Norton's wife and son began to amass a significant collection of fine art. In 1946, to honor Mr. Norton and for the benefit of the community, Richard W. Norton, Jr. (1919-1974) and his mother, Mrs. Richard W. Norton (1886-1975) created the R.W. Norton Art Foundation. In turn, the Foundation eventually established the R.W. Norton Art Gallery, basing its initial collection upon donations from the acquisitions of the Nortons. Today, due to the on-going efforts of the Board of Control and the Foundation's work, the R.W. Norton Art Gallery's offerings continue to expand, grow, and contribute to their community. This presentation is a general introduction to the works and exhibits, in our art museum and gardens, and is available in lengths of 20 minutes and 45 minutes.

During the colonial period and the early days of the Republic, American artists painted either imitations of European subjects and styles, or in a somewhat primitive limner tradition. Then art met transcendentalism and the first truly American style was born with the painters of the Hudson River School. The wonders of the American landscape continued to enthrall native and immigrant artists through the Luminist, Barbizon, and American Impressionist styles. At the Norton we’ll explore the journey through American art history with the innovations and master works of American painters like Thomas Sully, Rembrandt Peale, Thomas Cole, George Inness, and Mary Cassatt.

How was America born? Where did her people come from? What challenges did they face? Using paintings, porcelain, and sculpture, students explore the timeline of American History from the first Native American inhabitants to the closing of the frontier in 1890. Works by Thomas Sully, Rembrandt Peale, Charles Russell, and Frederic Remington are included in this tour.

Believe it or not, bronze-casting has been with us for about 5,000 years. And still the first question almost everyone asks is, “How in the world do they make metal do that?” We will answer that question with a powerpoint presentation and an exploration of the golden age of American sculptors and sculpture. Statues by Augustus Saint Gaudens, A.A. Weinman, Anna Hyatt Huntington, Charles Russell, and Frederic Remington are included in this tour.

America’s fascination with the West and her peoples began as soon as Europeans landed on its shores. In the beginning, only the bravest men (fur trappers, traders) ventured beyond the coastal regions into the wooded unknown. A steady course of land acquisition from the Louisiana Purchase through Seward’s Folly kept Americans and newly-arrived immigrants heading west. America’s early western painters brought back to the east breathtaking landscapes and genre paintings of the land’s original inhabitants that continued to encourage this westward expansion, as well as build an image of the most profound American icon – the cowboy. Paintings and sculptures by John Mix Stanley, A.D.M. Cooper, Solon Borglum, C.M. Russell and Frederic Remington are included on this journey into the Old West.

The decorative arts are traditionally defined as ornamental and functional works in ceramic, wood, glass, metal, and textile. On this guided tour we will discuss the Norton’s porcelain with masterworks from Cybis and Wedgwood, glass with 19th century pressed glass and the Steuben collection, metalwork with colonial silver and the Revere Bell, and textiles with 16th century European tapestries, and prove once and for all that the decorative arts are more than a craft or hobby – they are the work of true masters.

One of the most unique attributes in our Gallery is our collection of 56 antique dolls dressed in the genuine fashions of Louisiana from 1720-1920. Join us as we learn the history behind those in our fashion parade - from frontiersman to those on the frontlines, court cases involving slave defendants to lost dependants, and saints to sinners, this is only a tiny thread of the rich tapestry that makes up Louisiana’s past.

Showcasing a significant portion of the Norton’s permanent collection of arts by European artists, this tour explores everything from Renaissance tapestries to Neoclassical pottery to Romantic sculpture to Impressionist paintings. Titans of the art world such as Josiah Wedgwood, Mary Cassatt, and Auguste Rodin are introduced and their works explored and explained.

Up until the early 19th century, art was primarily for the aristocracy. One had to be highly educated not only to create the art, but also to appreciate it. However, as the Industrial Revolution rolled on, a new middle class emerged and soon became dominant. A group of artists, most of whom came from this new middle class, rebelled against the academic model and developed a new style called Romanticism. The political struggles of France in the 1800s led directly to a revolution in painting and sculpting practices, giving rise to painters and sculptors like Antoine Louis Barye, Rosa Bonheur, Mary Cassatt, and Auguste Rodin.

Any visit to a museum is automatically a visit to Greco-Roman history. The word “museum” itself derives from a Greek phrase mean “home of the muses”. The Greeks and the Romans, long after they were political powers, continued to educate, inspire, and inform Western culture; they provided the foundation for the civilization in which we continue to live, and their thoughts and deeds continue to awe and instruct us more than a thousand years after their world ceased to exist. The tour explores the classical influence of ancient Greece and the Roman Empire on works and artists in the gallery, and unravels in depth the history depicted in the tapestries.

In the early years of the Republic, America was still struggling with self-definition, still feeling entrapped by older European models of culture, feeling most keenly of all, its own perceived lack of history.   Then an English immigrant named Thomas Cole, influenced by a love of the natural world and transcendental philosophy, took up his paintbrush and began the first American art movement: The Hudson River School. America’s landscapes unfold from East to West as Manifest Destiny is manifested in paint with a bevy of works in the Norton’s permanent collection including Thomas Cole, Thomas Moran, and Alfred Bierstadt.

The painter Piet Mondrian once said, “Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep.” The great artists were great because they did something that no one else could do; when you see their work, you recognize it as uniquely theirs. But before artists can make their own unique “mistakes”, they have to learn the craft of painting. This tour is an introduction to the tools of the trade and artistic vocabulary, where students will have the chance to identify the painting techniques of some of our most famous artists, including George Inness, Winslow Homer, Mary Cassatt, and Peter Ellenshaw.

This tour was born with a young man’s questions: “When was color invented?” The Norton explored the history of painter’s pigments, delving into how the old masters created their first paints. We uncovered some gruesome discoveries: 20,000 insects expired for a scintilla of scarlet; 12,000 mollusks gave their lives for a pinch of purple, and countless artists paid the price for color in infirmity, invalidism, and even death. The high cost of art hasn’t just been measured in dollars and cents. Combining science and history, we’ll identify which artists used what type of paints to create their masterpieces.

One was a professional artist and an amateur cowboy, while the other was a professional cowboy and an amateur artist. Exploring the painting and sculptures of the powerhouses of cowboy art - Frederic Remington and Charles Russell - students will learn how the mythology and legends of the Old West were created or captured.

During Halloween and Christmas, the Norton's resident storyteller shares tales related to the holiday season. Appropriate for the young (and young at heart) these stories are performed in conjunction with works on permanent display at the museum.