Artists at work: A peek behind the canvas 

A first-time curator’s exhibit at the Norton invites visitors to think about the artist, not just the art.

Tucked in a hallway at the Norton Museum of Art is a petite exhibit titled “Artists at Work,” focusing on process rather than product.

“Artists at Work”  is filled with paintings, photographs and sculptures that offer insight beyond art history books.

This exhibit is the first fully independent show put together by Sarah Bass, a curatorial research associate for the Norton.

After graduating from the University of Florida with bachelor’s degrees in art history and visual art studies in 2021, she began working at the Norton front desk. A year later, she moved into the curatorial department. Bass worked on last year’s “Artist’s Jewelry” exhibit and has assisted in nearly every photography and modern art exhibit since.

Having grown up around the arts, she said she enjoys being close to artwork in a creative, intellectual space like the Norton. “It’s a creative experience, pairing artworks together, choosing paint color,” Bass said. 

One of Bass’ favorite pieces is by retired University of Florida professor Hiram Williams, titled “Big Studio Table.” Seemingly an incomplete painting, the silhouette of a table with tools and brushes fills the canvas, along with color palettes applied directly to the canvas. 

Rips have been repaired and painted over, paint smeared in a way that illuminates the personality that brought Williams’ name into the Florida Artist Hall of Fame in 1994.

For guests who remember the pre-renovation Norton Museum, the sculpture “Fountain of Youth” by Bay Williams will be a nostalgic return to that time. 

Commissioned by founder Ralph Norton, the sculpture endured 77 years of Florida climate before it was removed in 2018. Now fully restored, the sculpture carved by Robert Bailey stands inside next to its initial design by Bay Williams.

Another sculpture in this exhibit is by William Zorach, an artist who is featured in the Norton’s permanent collection multiple times. 

His sketch for “Youth” is presented next to the finished piece, for guests to compare the two. The terra-cotta prototype was produced by adding clay, versus the finished piece, carved from a slab of marble. This difference altered the final piece, with hands and feet hanging off the ledge and details emerging out of inspiration coming from the marble, according to Bass.

“I think that when you walk around a museum, you can get insight into what an artist is thinking or what’s going on around them. The maker isn’t necessarily what you’re thinking about when you’re looking at the final, and that might be the artist’s choice,” Bass says. “I think this is a space to reorient yourself as a visitor and really think it’s a person that made these things.”

This sentiment is apparent in photographs of Henri Matisse, John Marin, Georges Braque and Fernand Léger. “I can relate to sitting down and just thinking and in front of a canvas or a project,” Bass says. Braque and Léger aren’t painting, they’re smoking or reading, seemingly ruminating on a piece that doesn’t exist yet. That relatability and humanity is captured in this exhibit, beyond a plaque next to something finished.

“Artists at Work” is on view through June 21.

The Norton’s exhibits include:

• “That’s Entertainment: Japanese Woodblock Prints and the Art of Leisure” through July 5;
• “60 Seconds: Polaroids from the Collection” runs through Aug. 16;
• “Danielle Mckinney: Shelter” from March 28 through Oct. 4;
• “Recognition of Art by Women: In Retrospect” from March 28 through Sept. 27.