Destiny Is a Rose: The Eileen Harris Norton Collection

Renowned for her generosity to artists and institutions, Eileen Harris Norton has built an inspiring art collection and forged a philanthropic legacy by focusing upon the work of women artists, as well as artists of color and of her native California. Marking fifty years since Harris Norton made her first acquisition—a print purchased in 1976 directly from Los Angeles artist and African American arts advocate Ruth Waddy—'Destiny Is a Rose' will present more than 80 works from Harris Norton's holdings in an exhibition conceived to celebrate the connoisseurship and commitment to social justice and learning that she embodies. Taking its title from a 1990 painting by Kerry James Marshall, 'Destiny Is a Rose' features paintings, sculptures and works on paper by Mark Bradford, Felix Gonzalez-Torres, David Hammons, Glenn Ligon, Marshall, Patrick Martinez, Beatriz Milhazes, Michael Norton, Catherine Opie, Yoshitomo Nara, Senga Nengudi, Lorraine O'Grady, Betye Saar, Amy Sherald, Lorna Simpson, Bob Thompson, Kara Walker and Carrie Mae Weems, among many others. In conjunction with the exhibition, Hauser & Wirth Publishers will release a fully illustrated catalogue with texts by Dr. Kellie Jones and exhibition curator Ingrid Schaffner. The first to draw comprehensively on Eileen Harris Norton's collection, this catalogue—and the exhibition that occasions it—builds on the concept that collections can be creative and intellectual constructions in their own right, and that visionary collectors are cultural treasures whose efforts provide beacons for wider cultural advocacy. 'Destiny Is a Rose' follows past gallery projects dedicated to such collectors, including major exhibitions devoted to the Helga and Walther Lauffs (2008), Onnasch (2014) and Sylvio Perlstein (2018) collections.