The Norton Museum of Art Gala Was a Star-Studded Tribute to Rembrandt

On February 7, West Palm Beach glowed beneath the allure of the Norton Museum of Art Gala, one of the crowning events of the Palm Beach social calendar. The night drew notable philanthropists, art collectors, dealers, and cultural patrons for a celebration that blended artistry, community, and glamour in equal measure.

This year’s theme—Art and Life in Rembrandt’s Time: Masterpieces from the Leiden Collection, the title of Norton’s current blockbuster exhibition and one of the world’s foremost private collections of 17th-century Dutch art—set the evening’s tone. Though guests never entered the museum itself, the gala’s setting echoed the exhibition’s emotion and intimacy, channeling Rembrandt’s mastery of chiaroscuro, the dance of light and shadow that defined his art.

Behind the museum, an epic custom‑built tent transformed the rear with drinks, dinner, and dessert evolving through distinct yet harmoniously designed areas. Cocktails glowed beneath sculptural golden lighting, giving way to a candlelit dinner where guests were served Rembrandt’s Rosti—a delicate potato pancake crowned with crème fraîche and caviar—followed by Salmon Wellington. Long tables dressed with candelabras, flowers, seashells, and fruits created still‑life compositions that paid sumptuous homage to the Dutch master’s world. After dinner, guests flowed into the Dessert Room, where tiers of confections, passed petits fours, and dancing carried the night forward. Every detail—light, color, scent—was orchestrated to evoke Rembrandt’s textures and tones.

Throughout the evening, the Sotheby’s auctioneer kept the energy high, as works by Loie Hollowell, Jeffrey Gibson, Julie Curtiss, Jessie Henson, and Marilyn Minter sparked generous bidding. Honorees Ronnie Heyman, distinguished philanthropist, and artist Loie Hollowell, celebrated for her luminous abstractions, embodied the Norton’s mission to bridge heritage and innovation—linking centuries of artistry in a single radiant evening. Heyman’s legacy extends beyond the gala: the Samuel J. and Ronnie F. Heyman Plaza, home to Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen’s monumental Typewriter Eraser, Scale X (1999), stands as a lasting testament to her generosity and vision.

Beyond its spectacle, the gala raised vital funds for the Norton’s curatorial, educational, and community engagement programs, reinforcing its role as a cultural cornerstone of South Florida. By uniting global collectors with local benefactors, the Norton reaffirmed that art’s most luminous moments live not only on its walls but in the lives it continues to influence. As the evening drew to a close, the museum’s Norman Foster–designed addition glowed softly against the tropical sky while Oldenburg’s bold sculpture gleamed in its reflecting pool.