Ann Norton Sculpture Gardens (West Palm Beach, FL)
South Florida and abstract sculpture are two categories where you rarely encounter red brick. Combining them explains a large part of the appeal of wandering through the 2.5 acre tropical folly that is the Ann Norton Sculpture Gardens. It’s filled with 250 species of rare wild palms and overgrown foliage that shades the meandering pathways along which Norton’s ginormous abstracts, constructed over the course of two decades, are slowly revealed.
The size of the estate helps create the sense that you’ve been transported back to a time when Florida alligators roamed free. With a little imagination you might even think you’re in the Amazon. While attempting to check all nine of Norton’s sculptures off the list I pretended that I was a swashbuckling archaeologist searching for Incan temples in the dense forests of Peru, when in fact I was only a mile away from the swanky shops and posh restaurants of downtown West Palm Beach. You can thank Norton’s friend Sir Peter Smithers (former British diplomat and renowned landscape architect) for making the sculptures so hard to find. Despite their size — two reach 30’ (9 metres) in height and one undulates over a length of 48’ (14.6 metres) — the densely packed “green oasis” means that most of her monumental works seem to sneak up on you.
Since they’re composed almost entirely from red clay brick you will eventually catch sight of them, most likely while you peer through the spikes of an oversized palm frond. As the foliage makes way and you get closer to each one, you may spot nods to Frank Lloyd Wright, Romanesque buttresses, or even Sanskrit. Many of the works contain gravity defying features thanks to internal steel and concrete supports, and a large number appear to be giant triumphal arches. The word ‘Gateway’ appears in the titles of six of them although not even a child could squeeze through them. In fact, few of the works can even be circumnavigated. To fully appreciate all aspects you’ll have to view some from a short distance away, surrounded by the gardens while you swat away mosquitos. It truly is a tropical art hunt.
For those who fade fast in the Florida humidity the house on the estate, in which Ann lived for over three decades and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1990, has been converted into an art gallery with seasonal exhibitions. It’s included with your entry fee and is a great value add that justifies return visits. I spied three pencil drawings in the stairwell that was roped off to visitors. They were visibility enticing and an indication that there might be added depths to both Norton’s artwork and the house itself. Alas, access is limited to the ground floor.
The biggest indoor reward is the one that that awaits a successful navigation of the gardens: a chance to nosy around Ann’s studio. It’s filled with dozens of her sculptures in wood, plaster and bronze, alongside carefully maintained cabinets that display her original tools and supplies. A nearby outdoor gallery showcases a selection of Ann’s paintings and work on paper but neither the studio or gallery contains much documentation of what you will see. Thankfully most of the art is self explanatory, but it is a shame that the information provided about the artist and her practice is limited to a general overview.
Those quibbles are minor because they’re not why you should visit. This is a venue with a name that says everything about why you are there. It’s called The Ann Norton Sculpture Gardens for a reason. The outdoor experience is so fantastic that it’s worth paying the full price of admission twice just to explore it again.
Plan your visit
‘Ann Norton Sculpture Gardens’ is located at 253 Barcelona Roda, West Palm Beach, FL 33401
Tickets from US$15 adult / US$10 seniors / US$7 students & children
Visit ansg.org and follow @ann_norton_sculpture_gardens on Instagram for more info about the venue, including opening days/hours.
Visit the Ann Weaver Norton Wikipedia page for more info about the artist.
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