Cups and saffron boxes or cups made by John R. Dierwechter (1910-1996). Collection of Esther, Grace and Naomi Dierwechter.
WEST PALM BEACH, FLA. – “Portraits: Familiar Faces from the Norton Museum of Art” is on view through November 4.
The exhibit offers an entertaining examination of one of the visual arts’ most popular and accessible genres. Whether portraying the famous or the infamous, drawing in caricature or life-size painting, artists have made important aesthetic discoveries as well as decent livings from the talent of rendering a likeness.
The devices that define the portrait genre – carefully staged poses, dignified expressions, well-dressed sitters – are virtually timeless, and after hundreds of years, they remain in use even today. However, every artist also places his or her own distinguishing stamp on the process of recording identity, and of course every subject is unique, which accounts for the show’s vitality and variety.
The 70 paintings, sculpture, photographs and works on paper in the show range from the 1560s to the 1990s and are drawn primarily from the collection of the Norton Museum of Art.
The museum is at 1451 South Olive Avenue; telephone, 561-832-5196.
