Special Exhibitions
2015-2016
Michael S. Harper
U.S. Army, Vietnam War
A long-time resident of Minden, Louisiana, Michael was born in Shreveport to Judson Harper and Betty Beazley Harper. The son, who owns a car dealership, came by his skills naturally. Judson remained in the automobile business in both used and new cars most of his life. Michael grew up working on his dad's used car lot on Texas Avenue in the 1960s. He also worked at an Oldsmobile and Cadillac dealership where his dad was a minority owner. The elder Harper later bought a dealership in Minden. Michael went on to partner with a GM dealer in Many, then became sole owner of that dealership. "It's just in our family" he remarks of the business. In his spare time Michael hunted doves and quail, squirrels, rabbits and ducks. He attended a high school called Jesuit (now Loyola College Prep) where he graduated in 1969. Michael was in college at the University of South Louisiana when his number on the second draft lottery turned up an unlucky 13. Knowing he was bound for service, he eventually took his physical, withdrew from school, and enlisted on 3 March 1971 in Shreveport. To read the entire bio, click the link above.
If you or someone you know would like to share stories with us, please call (318) 865-4201 ext. 122, or contact ohp@rwnaf.org.
The Norton is sorry to announce that it is discontinuing its First Saturday Tours in order to focus our energies on other special events like our upcoming Valentine's Day celebration: "The Art of Love", 13 February 2015. Stay tuned for announcements of these special activities and remember that we welcome you to visit the Norton regularly to enjoy our outstanding permanent and visiting collections as well as the beautiful botanical gardens.
2015 College Arts Contest
1 December 2014 - 1 February 2015
Showcasing the best college talent in Louisiana! Louisiana River Arts 2015 College Art Contest invites all Louisiana college students to compete with their peers from across the state. This competition will showcase a selection of the best works being created by today's college students in our great state.
As the Twig is Bent: Children's Books Library Exhibit
10 January 2015 - 1 March 2015
Children's literature, as we think of it, began with the English printer John Newbery in 1744. Newbery came up with the idea of writing and publishing little books specifically for children. Over the next fifty years, he and his successors produced some two hundred books aimed at that particular audience. The market grew through the 19th century with works that mostly bore moral lessons and abjured children to behave in a certain way. Then, toward the end of the century, writers and publishers began to realize that the most popular books inclined toward pure entertainment, particularly those that were well illustrated.
Audubon and the Art of Birds Exhibit
10 February 2015 - 19 April 2015
From cave walls of the Paleolithic era to today's galleries and field guides, the human fascination with birds has found expression in art and science. No other artist is more closely associated with the study and depiction of birds than John James Audubon.
Norton at Night "Art of Love"
13 February 2015 @ 5:30 pm
The R.W. Norton Art Gallery is proud to present Norton at Night - The Art of Love, a journey through our permanent collection's most famous, or infamous, love stories. This event features wines and champagnes especially chosen to compliment hors d'oeuvres provided by Rhino Coffee and chocolate sweets from The Chocolate Crocodile.
Around the Gallery Newsletter:
Interior of a Cathedral
by Hippolyte Sebron
Our opening article this month featured the new barrel vault in the Norton's South Wing Corridor. In that article, we mentioned the fact that barrel vaults gave way to groin vaults during the Gothic period in Europe. And, luckily, we have a wonderful painting of just such groin vaults in Hippolyte Sebron's Interior of a Cathedral. A remarkably versatile artist, Hippolyte Sebron was born in Caudebec, France, but certainly didn't stay there. As a young artist, his first significant job was as a co-painter of Louis Daguerre, creating dioramas - extremely large and long canvases which were unrolled on a stage with a light behind them to produce a primitive "moving picture". As Daguerre's partner, he traveled throughout France, Great Britain, and Ireland. On his own, he became known as a painter of ruins and church interiors in Europe, like Interior of a Cathedral. These were strongly influenced by the Dutch Old Masters; many of the elements, from the perspective conferred by the checkerboard floor design to the play of light and shadow are derived from Vermeer. This reflects the traditions beloved in Academic painting. To read the whole article, please click on the link above.
Featured This Month:
Osmanthus heterophyllus 'Goshiki' is an extremely tough, strikingly variegated evergreen shrub. Goshiki means 'five colored' in Japanese and refers to the various colors found on each leaf. Cream, pink, orange, yellow, and white appear as attractive spots and swirls that combine together to create an eye-catching display. Osmanthus heterophyllus is known for its wonderfully fragrant fall flowers, but this cultivar-at least when young-does not flower. Grown in part sun, well-drained soil.
