Carolyn DiPaolo
The public experience at the Norton Museum of Art and what the institution strives to be are shaped by the vision and drive of Director Emeritus Hope Alswang.
- Alswang’s eight-year tenure transformed the regional art center in West Palm Beach into a more accessible and glamorous destination.
- She retired in 2019 after the Norton threw open new doors on Dixie Highway.
Her death last week at 77 in Providence, R.I., is a moment to take the measure of her legacy here.
The most obvious is the gleaming home of the 83-year-old Norton, which grew from a relatively modest $20 million refresh to a robust $100 million transformation.
“Hope was the one who bought into a larger vision than the museum had ever had,” board member and former Hearst executive Gilbert Maurer told the Palm Beach Daily News in 2018.
There’s more: Here is some of it in her own words.
“I thought I’d take a somewhat sleepy museum and shake it up.”
— Hope Alswang interview with Jan Sjostrom of the Palm Beach Daily News in 2018.
Aspirations to be central in public life: “I grew up in New York City, and museums were kind of a ubiquitous part of most people’s lives.
“If you talk to most New Yorkers, they think the Metropolitan Museum is their museum. ‘Yeah, that’s my museum. I grew up there.’ I want people to feel the same way about the Norton.” — Florida Weekly interview with Scott Simmons, December 2018.
About technology and museums: “You can look at slides or see something online. But there is nothing to match the object. It is my obsession. I don’t care about anything else.” — Director emeritus conversation at the Norton, March 2019
About the New Norton: “I think people are hungry for a public experience. It’s why they will pay too much for a cup of coffee. People just love the chance to be with other people. There is a richness to that experience.” — Director emeritus conversation
After the Norton, Alswang and her husband and arts collaborator, Henry Joyce, retired to their 1850 Greek Revival home in Providence. Their social media updates reflect their recent years filled with family, art, nature and their dogs and cats.
Keep reading: Her 2018 Florida Weekly interview
I am a co-founder, writer and editor for Stet News. I am also a former senior editor at The Palm Beach Post. For 20 years, I oversaw some of the most consequential stories published by the paper, including the “Corruption County” reporting project that led to multiple arrests of elected officials. I am a member of the Leadership Palm Beach County Class of 2013. I live in West Palm Beach with my husband, Bill DiPaolo.
