by Angela Rocco DeCarlo
Forget Disneyland.
And all the colorful made-up characters.
Surprise your grandchildren - introduce them to real genius - Degas, Raphael, Monet, Pissarro and other great artists, whose works are displayed at the singularly splendid Norton Simon Museum, Pasadena, California.
Will they be bored? Perhaps…but more likely they’ll be intrigued. Imagine, someone they don’t even know collected beautiful things for them to see and placed them all together to be enjoyed over and over. This is a concept even a three-year old can grasp.
One day my then-tiny granddaughter, Michelle, looked around at all the old toys I’d saved from my childhood and my children’s and said :“Nani, you kept all these for me.” She understood! I treasured the items and wanted her to treasure them, too.
That’s exactly what successful industrialist, the late Norton Simon, did, as he set about collecting works of art he loved. He bought what pleased him and arranged for the display of approximately 1,000, of the 12,000 objects in thecollection, in the eponymous museum on Colorado Boulevard (seen by millions as Rose Parade floats pass by), Pasadena,California.
You are right, I told her. Then explained that strangers gathered lovely things for us to see and asked if she’d like to go to such a place, called a museum. And so we began our exploration of beautiful things. She’s ten now and has visited more than a dozen world-class museums, some she liked, some not so much. After all, even a child has personal taste.
We once took her to San Diego’s art museum specifically to see Edgar Degas’ famous sculpture (actually there are many of them) “Little Dancer Aged Fourteen.” Not a successful effort – too far, too tired.
The Norton Simon has a Degas “Little Dancer” – complete with fabric skirt and two-inch wide cream-colored satin hair ribbon, as well as a room full of other Degas sculptures and paintings, with a sprinkling of Monet, Pissarro, van Gogh, Cezanne and other marquee artists. The art objects’ placards, explaining the works, are particularly well-written and informative. There is also an audio tour with a special track for children.
This is an excellent museum for a first visit with your grandchildren. The building is not too large, compared to most big-city museums. It is open, flooded with natural light and boasts a Monetesque garden, complete with floating water lilies - the perfect place to enjoy a spot of lunch from the museum’s unassuming little café.
The museum offers special children’s programs throughout the year. Coming up are several family programs in September, such as story time and sculpting with scissors, on September 3, 20 and 28.
While Norton Simon professed no particular religious affiliation, he nonetheless, acquired roomfuls of beautiful art narrating the Christian story. Raphael’s Madonna and Child with Book, and di Paolo’s Branchini Madonna, are particularly noteworthy. There are also paintings of St.Genevieve, patron saint of Paris; St. Benedict, founder of Western Monastic communities,and St. Ignatius Loyola, founder of the Jesuit religious order.
After marrying film star Jennifer Jones in 1971, Norton Simon began to collect South Asian art. The museum’s Asian art includes Shivaas King of Dance, c. 1000, India; Buddha Shakyamuni, c 550, India and the gilt bronze Indra, 13th century , Napal.
Even before entering the building guests are greeted by several larger-than-life Auguste Rodin sculptures in the entrance garden. What a feast of wonder and excitement to find these behemoths leading the way to a delightful array of beauty inside.
The museum theater features films with Sister Wendy, the well-known art commentator. She offers some interesting insights into various works in the collection. She’s worth watch and listening to for the obvious intellect, contained within her small, black shrouded figure.
We should take our children to museums so that they may learn and experience what history and art can teach them. Everyone can appreciate beauty, even very young children.
Norton Simon’s expressed his philosophy thus: “Art at its finest gives us a deep sense of history, tradition, and the true potentialities of man’s creativity.”
Children will be quick to understand this when they visit this splendid house of beauty. You may inspire a life-long love of art in your children.
WHENYOU GO:
Norton Simon Museum
411 Colorado Blvd.
Pasadena, CA91105
www.nortonsimon.org
626-449-6840
HOURS: Open daily, except Tuesday, from Noon to 6 p.m.; noon to 9 on Friday. Free parking on property.
No reservations needed.
Children, and students with ID, are free.
Adults - $8.00
Seniors - $4.00
-End
Credit: Angela Rocco Decarlo
