Anke Van Wagenberg Appointed As Norton Museum's Curator Of American And European Art

Today, the Norton Museum of Art announced the appointment of Anke Van Wagenberg, Ph.D. to the position of Harold and Anne Berkley Smith Senior Curator of American and European Art.

In this expanded position, Van Wagenberg will be responsible for developing innovative, original exhibitions of European and American paintings, sculpture, and works on paper; proposing acquisitions that will enhance the museum's collection in this area; and overseeing care of the Museum's permanent collection. Additionally, Van Wagenberg will steward the Friends of American Art (FoAA), one of the Norton's four curatorial friends groups that boasts a membership of sophisticated collectors and enthusiasts and supports acquisitions for the benefit of the Museum's permanent collection. Van Wagenberg assumes her position on June 1, 2023. She currently serves as the Senior Curator at Vero Beach Museum of Art in Vero Beach, Florida.

"We are thrilled to add Dr. Anke Van Wagenberg to the Norton family and are eager to see the ways she applies her expansive knowledge of European and American art to further our mission of serving as a vital cultural resource to the region," said Ghislain d'Humières, Kenneth C. Griffin Director and CEO of the Norton Museum of Art. "Her indisputable expertise in the field and impressive curatorial track record make her a terrific addition to the team."

Van Wagenberg specializes in Dutch and Flemish painting of the Golden Age, particularly Dutch painters Jan Baptist Weenix and Jan Weenix, on whom she published an 800-page catalogue raisonneé. During her tenure at the Vero Beach Museum of Art, she was responsible for the organization and curation of the exhibition Vero Collects, which featured 132 artworks from over 50 collectors in Vero Beach and was accompanied by a comprehensive catalogue. Prior to Vero Beach, she served as Chief Curator at the Academy Art Museum in Easton, Maryland, where she organized 96 exhibitions, featuring artists including Rubens, Rauschenberg, Turrell, Diebenkorn, and Ann Truitt-as well as created the museum's Artist-in-Residency program.

Previously, Van Wagenberg has held curatorial and research positions at the National Gallery of Art, the Netherlands Institute for Art History, and The Walters Art Museum, among others. She has held teaching positions at Washington College in Chestertown, Maryland, and within the University of Maryland system, covering a wide range of curricula across the discipline. Van Wagenberg earned her doctorate in Art History from Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam.

"I am thrilled to embark upon this next chapter at the Norton-a highly respected, leading institution that consistently produces quality shows with scholarly backing," said Van Wagenberg. "The Norton has proven to be a significant cultural force in the region, and I am excited to leverage my years of experience, knowledge, and passion to build upon that momentum."

The Norton's Departments of American and European Art are comprised of paintings, sculptures, and works on paper. The American Collection contains approximately 1,000 works of art dating from the 18th century to 1960. The institution's founder, Ralph Norton, began his collection with American art, and his holdings still form the core of his Museum's collection today. Norton was passionate about the art of his time - the first half of the 20th century - so the collection is particularly strong in that area. He acquired major oil paintings by George Bellows, Charles Demuth, Edward Hopper, Georgia O'Keeffe, Robert Motherwell, and Charles Sheeler; sculptures by Paul Manship, Theodore Roszak, and William Zorach; and watercolors by Charles Burchfield, Winslow Homer, and John Marin, among many others.

Significant acquisitions after Norton's death in 1953 include the purchases of Stuart Davis' 1932 painting New York Mural and Jackson Pollock's 1945 canvas Night Mist as well as a gift of 19 paintings from Elsie and Marvin Dekelboum in 2005. Since 2014, a number of significant American art acquisitions have been made through the generosity of the Museum's Friends of American Art. The Norton's Curator of American Art position was endowed by a generous gift from Harold and Anne Berkley Smith in 2005; Mrs. Smith is a Life Trustee and a former president of the Board of Trustees.

The Museum's Collection of European Art contains works from 1300 to 1945 and encompasses all major artistic movements from the Renaissance through Impressionism and Modernism. Works created before 1850 provide fine examples of religious and mythological painting, portraiture, landscape, and still life. In 2006, Valerie Delacorte, a Hungarian film star who later became a philanthropist, transformed the European Collection with her gift of more than 60 paintings and works on paper, primarily from the 17th and 18th centuries.

Important Renaissance and Baroque artists represented include Lucas Cranach the Elder, Ludovico Carracci, and Peter Paul Rubens. The 18th century is represented by painters like Horace Vernet and Jean-Baptiste Greuze, and sculptors Guillaume Coustou the Younger and Bartolommeo Cavaceppi. The early Modern period begins with Realist, Impressionist, and Post-Impressionist canvases by Gustave Courbet, Claude Monet, and Paul Gauguin. The Modern Collection contains work from every important movement and is replete with significant paintings and sculpture by Constantin Brancusi, Georges Braque, Marc Chagall, Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso, and Chaim Soutine, among others. The collection of works on paper spans more than five centuries, from the earliest soft-metal cuts to prints and drawings by young living artists.

The Norton Museum of Art is home to the leading and most far-ranging collection of art in Florida and the region, with distinguished holdings in American, European, Contemporary, and Chinese art and Photography. In 2019, the Norton unveiled an expansion by Foster + Partners, featuring the new 59,000-square-foot Kenneth C. Griffin Building, which greatly enhanced the Museum's facilities and was accompanied by the complete reinstallation of the museum's renowned collections in state-of-the-art galleries.

The Norton is also recognized for advancing the practice and appreciation of emerging and under-recognized artists. In 2011, the Norton launched RAW (Recognition of Art by Women). Since its inception, the series has presented the work of Jenny Saville, Sylvia Plimack Mangold, Phyllida Barlow, Klara Kristalova, Nina Chanel Abney, Njideka Akunyili Crosby, Svenja Deininger, and María Berrío. In January 2019, the Museum launched an artist-in-residence program, which hosts four artists annually who are in residence on-site in restored homes that border the Museum's campus. Artists who have participated in the residency program include María Berrío and Jessica Ingram.

The expansion of the Norton also provided new and enhanced facilities for its educational programs, special exhibitions, lectures, tours, and other activities that serve the Museum's diverse audiences. It transformed the Norton's 6.3-acre campus into a "museum in a garden" which celebrates the beautiful year-round weather in West Palm Beach and features new, verdant public spaces and a 37,000-square-foot sculpture garden.

For more information on museum hours, please visit Norton.org.

To post a comment, you must register and login.