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Ann Norton Sculpture Gardens West Palm Beach #TravelTips

167 views · Published 15 July 2018 · 5:32 · Indexed 22 October 2026

Channel: Guillermo Paz · 2018 · Entertainment

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Ann Norton Sculpture Gardens West Palm Beach #TravelTips 

Ann Norton Sculpture Gardens in West Palm Beach is not only a gorgeous place to visit; it is also a piece of history in the best sense of the word. When we did our visit, we enjoyed the tour and the possibility of reliving Ann Norton´s life and her past as an artist, as well as a socialité and a patron to the Dalai Lama´s brother.

The Gardens as we know them today were part of the early pioneer settlement that was known as Lake Worth. Unlike most lakes this was saltwater, and was not a source of water but food. In 1875 Benjamin Lanehart was the first permanent resident of Lake Worth. Included in his homestead was the property now known as the Ann Norton Sculpture Gardens.

Lanehart along with his cousin William built a saw palmetto cabin near Barcelona Road and began to plant pineapples and avocados. It is unknown if his home was directly on the property. By 1910 disease and competition from Cuba ruined the pineapple business early in the new century.

In the 1920s, Pittsburgh socialite Jay Phipps, the son of Andrew Carnegie’s partner in U.S. Steel, assembled old pineapple fields and other property to develop subdivisions under the historic name “El Cid”. The 253 Barcelona home, later purchased by Ralph Norton, was bult in 1925 and included a pine forest to its north.

The history of Ralph Norton is forever linked to the Gardens. An industrialist who headed the Acme Steel Company in Chicago, Mr. Norton retired in 1939 to make his permanent home in West Palm Beach, Florida. Upon moving South, the Nortons decided to share their art collection with the public. In 1940, the Norton Gallery and School of Art was built on property located between South Olive Avenue and South Dixie Highway in West Palm Beach. This site was linked to the early pioneers and today bears the name Pioneer Park, as it was the annual gathering place for the early Lake Worth Pioneers.

Mr. Norton commissioned Marion Sims Wyeth, to re-design his home and then later to design a building to house the collection. This building, The Norton Gallery and School of Art opened its doors to the public on February 8, 1941.

In 1942 Ann Weaver was engaged as the first sculpture instructor. Ann made her presence quickly known by being very serious about her craft and ran her classes as such. In Ralph, we think she found a great yet friendly antagonist, each coming to their views on art from very different directions. It made for good conversation at the Gallery, along with Robert Hunter, its early Director. The museum was very hands on and friendships were made. Elizabeth Norton, Francis Hunter and Ann Weaver all hailed from Alabama.

In 1947 Mrs. Elizabeth Calhoun Norton died after a long illness. In 1948 Ralph Norton asked the much younger Ann Weaver to be his wife, which began a three month courtship from New York to Chicago. They married in 1948. Soon a studio was built in the pine forest on the northwest corner of the property. Ann began her most prolific work to date, as the advantages of being Ralph’s wife provided the necessary funds and time to dedicate to her work. They were together only five years when Ralph died in 1953. After and because of Ralph’s death, Ann began her “life’s work” as we know it, the nine monumental sculptures, beginning with the work in Norwegian Granite in memory of her husband.

Ann Weaver Norton died February 4, 1982. Her art has been seen by visitors world wide for over 25 years.

Address: Address: 253 Barcelona Rd, West Palm Beach, FL 33401, USA
Website: www.ansg.org

Video by Guillermo Paz
www.seriesandtv.com
www.dayanabarrionuevo.com

Soundtrack
Waltz of the Flowers by Tchaikovsky

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