Midtown Beach in Palm Beach hit by erosion in October 2025. See video
The combination of king tide and rough surf from a passing hurricane caused erosion at Midtown Beach in Palm Beach, seen here on Oct. 6, 2025.
- The Norton Museum of Art’s 2025-26 season will feature Dutch art, works by women artists and the return of popular events.
- A major exhibition, “Art and Life in Rembrandt’s Time,” will display more than 70 masterpieces, including 17 works by Rembrandt.
- Two exhibitions opening in November will showcase the work of contemporary women artists Anastasia Samoylova and Shara Hughes.
Explorations of Dutch art, work by women artists and the return of beloved events lead the 2025-26 season at the Norton Museum of Art.
“Leslie Hewitt: Achromatic Scales” is the West Palm Beach museum’s first exhibition of the season. It opened in September and continues through Feb. 22. The show features a selection of Hewitt’s work that showcase her contemporary approach to photography.
“Art and Life in Rembrandt’s Time: Masterpieces from The Leiden Collection,” an exhibition the Norton deemed “a blockbuster,” opens Oct. 25 and continues through March 29. More than 70 paintings from well-known Dutch artists will be shown, including 17 works by Rembrandt and a painting by Vermeer that is the only one of his pieces to be privately owned, the Norton said.
“One of the most remarkable facts about Rembrandt and his circle is that their artworks continue to connect with audiences, hundreds of years after they were painted,” Elizabeth Nogrady, curator of The Leiden Collection, said in a news release. “These artists had an uncanny ability to tap into the continuity of human experience, which makes them continually relevant — even in very different times.”
Two exhibitions of work by women artists open in November. “Anastasia Samoylova: Atlantic Coast” and “Shara Hughes: Inside Outside” will run from Nov. 15 to March 1. Samoylova traveled U.S. 1 along the entire east coast of the U.S., and “Atlantic Coast” features her photographs that document her journey. Hughes’ “Inside Out” features more than 30 of her works that include large painting and ceramic sculptures.
“Veiled Presence: The Hidden Mothers and Sara VanDerBeek” is open through Nov. 30 and explores the peculiar 19th century practice of using veils or other objects to hide adults when photographing children.
“The Virtue of Vice: The Art of Social Commentary” opened in July and continues through Jan. 4. It features 25 works on paper that explore social commentary from artists such as Robert Henri, Pablo Picasso and Peggy Bacon.
“Art of the Word: Calligraphy and Chinese Artists” remains at the Norton through Nov. 23. It’s joined by a pair of installations that celebration Chinese art: The first installment of “La Florida: Chinese Flower Paintings: The Art of Renewal” is open through Nov. 16, followed by the second installment of the special installation that will be open from Nov. 22 to Feb. 8.
An Afterschool Arts Outreach exhibition, “No Place Like Home,” is open through Nov. 23. It explores children’s concepts of home, through art pieces created using “unconventional techniques and materials,” the Norton said.
Events this season at the Norton
The Norton’s Art After Dark series is from 5 to 10 p.m. each Friday. The first Friday of each month is Jazz Friday. Tours are from 5 to 7 p.m. and there are open studio workshops from 6 to 9 p.m., with artist tours at 8 p.m. on the third Friday of each month.
Among the lectures this season is an ArtSpeaks talk at 6 p.m. Oct. 24 with Leiden Collection founder Thomas Kaplan and senior adviser Arthur K. Wheelock Jr. to discuss art, collecting and “Art and Life in Rembrandt’s Time: Masterpieces from The Leiden Collection.”
Regina Palm, Harold and Anne Berkley Smith Senior Curator of Modern Art at the Norton, will present “Rethinking the Norton’s Modern Galleries at 6 p.m. Oct. 31. Glenn Tomlinson, William Randolph Hearst Chief Officer of Learning and Community Engagement, will discuss artist Sam Gilliam’s “Xian (Exercise Song)” as part of the Norton’s “A Closer Look” series at 1 p.m. Nov. 6.
There will be a happy hour for Norton members from 5 to 7 p.m. Oct. 24 with discounted drinks on the Colonnade before Art After Dark begins, the museum said.
The Norton’s Jazz Brunch series will be at The Restaurant from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. select Sundays: Oct. 19, Nov. 30 and Dec. 21. The Restaurant will serve brunch with a complimentary Bloody Mary or glass of champagne, the museum said.
Jazz pianist Bill Mays and contrabassist Jamie Ousley will perform at the Norton from 3 to 4:30 p.m. Nov. 16. Their performance will “take a sonic stroll through the galleries” of the Norton, the museum said.
The Norton Museum of Art is at 1450 S. Dixie Highway in West Palm Beach. For more information, go to norton.org or call 561-832-5196.
Kristina Webb is a reporter for Palm Beach Daily News, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach her at kwebb@pbdailynews.com. Subscribe today to support our journalism.
