Norton Simon Museum Commemorates 50 Years of Art and Community

Pasadena, CA – The Norton Simon Museum will present a series of exhibitions, a publication, and special programming throughout 2025 to commemorate its golden anniversary and honor the Museum’s five notable decades in Pasadena. Founded in 1975, the Norton Simon Museum has established itself as a cornerstone of art and culture in the Southern California community and beyond. These initiatives offer a reflective view of the past and enthusiasm for the decades to come. 

50th-ANNIVERSARY OVERVIEW

Special Exhibitions

Retrospect: 50 Years at the Norton Simon Museum
February 14, 2025­­­­­–January 12, 2026
Focus Gallery
Kicking off the anniversary festivities, the exhibition Retrospect: 50 Years at the Norton Simon Museum features rarely seen archival photographs, documents and works of art, providing a behind-the-scenes glimpse into the Museum’s operations and contributions to art, education and community over the past five decades. Organized by Kate Austin, rights and reproductions coordinator, and Dane Reeb, curatorial assistant, the exhibition begins with the institution’s name change in 1975, shortly after Norton Simon assumed managements of the Pasadena Art Museum. Rare archival photos showcasing the installation of Simon’s collections and early gallery views, along with a timeline highlighting key acquisitions and exhibitions, will reveal significant and lesser-known aspects of the collections. Additionally, the exhibition documents the evolution of the Museum’s campus, detailing renovations from its early years through the late 1990s, a period marked by growth, extended hours, enhanced scholarship and increased community engagement.

In conjunction with Retrospect, the Museum is launching 50 Objects, a gallery-wide initiative highlighting significant research discoveries and inviting visitors to engage with 50 exceptional works of art through special labels and a dedicated microsite available at nortonsimon.org.

Gold: Enduring Power, Sacred Craft
October 24, 2025–February 16, 2026
Lower-level exhibition wing
On October 24, 2025, 50 years to the date of its renaming, the Norton Simon Museum will open Gold: Enduring Power, Sacred Craft, organized by Associate Curator Maggie Bell and Assistant Curator Lakshika Senarath Gamage. The exhibition uses the theme of gold, a precious material often associated with 50th anniversaries, to explore the visual cultures of South and Southeast Asia, Europe, North Africa and North America. Visitors will have the opportunity to view a remarkable array of objects from the Museum’s collections, including religious sculptures, paintings, illuminated manuscripts, finely woven tapestries and exquisite jewelry. Gold not only highlights the diverse artistic traditions connected to this precious material but also fosters new conversations about the Museum’s collections.

Anniversary Publication
In the summer of 2025, the Museum will debut a new publication, Recollections: Stories from the Norton Simon Museum. Written by current and former staff members, the book features 13 essays illuminating the Museum’s history through the lens of selected artworks.

50th-Anniversary Community Festival
This fall, the Museum is organizing an all-day 50th-anniversary celebration for the community that will feature live music, art-making activities for all ages, spotlight talks on the art collections and much more. Details will be made available at nortonsimon.org in late summer.

Exterior Improvement Project
The Museum’s Exterior Improvement Project encompasses significant upgrades that will enhance the visitor experience. The scope of the project includes cleaning and restoration of the Museum’s iconic Heath tile façade, and renovations to the Sculpture Garden, Café seating area, pathways and landscaping.