• Welcome to the R.W. Norton Art Gallery

  • BOTANICAL GARDENS

    "I would like to paint the way a bird sings" - Claude Monet

  • Museum

    "Art is not what you see, it is what you make others see" - Edgar Degas

Welcome To Our Museum

History Of Our Museum

The R.W. Norton Art Gallery houses an exceptional collection of art spanning more than four millennia.   Since its opening in 1966, the museum has become particularly well-known around the country for its impressive collections of works by those titans of western art, Frederic Remington and Charles M. Russell.   The R.W. Norton Art Gallery is a teaching museum that uses the art to encourage community participation in thoughtful interpretations and discussions.

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.

 

Current hours of operation: 

Monday through Wednesday: CLOSED

Thursday - Sunday: 1:00-5:00 PM

No reservations or tickets are required and admission is free. 

If you have any questions, please contact info@rwnaf.org or call (318) 865-4201. 

Request a Tour:

To request a guided tour for an adult group, please CLICK HERE to fill out our Adult Tour Request Form.  

To request a tour for a children's group, CLICK HERE to fill our Teaching Tour Request Form. 

To request a tour for a homeschool group, CLICK HERE to fill out our Homeschool Visit Request Form.

 

 

 

MASK UPDATE:

While we do recommend it for children’s health and safety, masking at the museum is now optional, both inside and out. 

  

 

  

Norton Botanical Gardens Hours

Monday - Wednesday:  CLOSED

Thursday - Sunday:  7:30 AM - 5:00 PM

None of the above restrictions apply to the garden area west of Creswell Ave. or the “island” in front of the museum’s main entrance, both of which will be open dawn until dusk, year round.

Please be respectful of your fellow visitor by maintaining the approved social distance.

 

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CALL US

(318) 865-4201

ADMISSION

There is no admission charge.

Museum Hours

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About Our Museum

On View at the Museum

The R.W. Norton Art Gallery boasts an extensive permanent collection that includes more than 400 paintings and a plethora of sculptures representing over 100 artists.   Our collection represents a wide variety of styles, time periods, and historical importance.

Collection Highlight

Columbia Calls – Enlist Now for U. S. Army 

Aderente (ca. 1880 – 1941)
Color lithograph, 1916              

Like Britannia, the female goddess symbolizing Great Britain, the United States is also represented by a female goddess, Columbia. In this call to military action, she carries a sword in her right hand while brandishing the American flag with her left. While many women in America associated themselves with the peace movement, poet Frances Adams Halsted was convinced that it was inevitable that the U.S. would be drawn into the European war. She wrote the enlistment poem, “Columbia Calls”, in 1916. When America entered the war in 1917, Halsted donated her poem along with a design she drew to the U.S. War Department. They hired painter Vincent Aderente to adapt it into a poster and printed 500,000 copies, intending the proceeds to fund a home for the orphaned children of American sailors and soldiers. While women still could not serve directly in the U.S. Army, they could enlist to be army nurses. In Shreveport, Mrs. Virginia Sledge and Miss Wilma Dean became the first women to enroll for active service in the new United States student nurse reserve in July of 1918.