Norton Museum of Art — Attraction in West Palm Beach

My friend and I were having a besties day and decided to follow up our lunch at lynoras with a relaxed stroll at the Norton. We came in with our bottles of aqua pana and were greeted by lovely staff at the front who welcomed us graciously. Midway through our stroll a lovely woman with curls and a face mask politely asked me to put my water in my bag as drinks are not allowed in the gallery. We hadn’t been told this and I explained I didn’t have room in my small bag however I’d happily finish it or toss it if need be. She politely said I could keep it as long as I kept it capped. We continued our stroll and while my friend moved onto the next gallery I was rudely accosted in the most hostile and adversarial way possible by a woman with a long ponytail braid and her mid 30s supervisor with facial hair and a buzz cut. They came up to me and accused me of sneaking in the water and said they didn’t know how I had gotten this far but I needed to throw it away. I explained the situation but said I was happy to finish it or toss it. They grabbed it from me and I stepped back in shock and tried to carry on. As I turned the corner to catch up with my friend the woman with the braids then ran up to my friend and started quite literally barking at her as if she had committed a crime when she had yet to even be informed. She then turned to me and explained it was my responsibility to tell her even though 1. I hadn’t even caught up to her yet since they confronted me and 2. More importantly I’m not on their payroll or responsible for holding others to their policies. She then proceeded to circle us in gallery after gallery shooting me angry looks and incessantly staring. Finally I turned to her from across the gallery when she went a full minute without breaking eye contact and asked her to please stop staring and following us and allow us to go about our day enjoying the gallery. She responded by saying “I don’t know why you think you can talk to me.” Finally I had enough and told her I’d be circling back with her manager at the end of the tour. She said “bet, I’ll call them over now for you..” creating a huge embarrassing scene in the middle of the gallery that caused many to stare. The managers who came were very understanding and supportive citing her being a new staff with two weeks on the payroll as the reasoning for her surly and unprofessional behavior and were kind enough to ask what they could offer us to resolve the matter. I explained we didn’t come for free hand outs we simply just wanted accountability and wanted to be treated with respect and to be able to enjoy our time. The response was nice and the thought didn’t go unnoticed by us, and we probably could’ve used a little discount at the gift shop for our big coffee table book and puzzle haul if we really wanted to, however after the way we were treated we didn’t want to accept a gift or condone the behavior and we will not...

I have saddening news to report.

The Norton Museum of Art in West Palm Beach has gone anti-gun.

I just ate dinner at a local Chinese buffet and then went to the aforementioned museum. I parked, and paid $5 via credit card to do so.

I crossed the street from the parking lot to the museum, and encountered the following sign. (This was inside the doors, but an identical one was just outside.)

When I visited here last—October 2019—there was no metal detector in the entry vestibule as there is now, nor was there a “no-guns” policy. You walked right in, paid your entry fee at the front desk, and you walked on through the museum.

I am a pro-gun hard-liner. I responsibly and legally carry a concealed handgun every day. Have done so for decades. DECADES. PEACEABLY.

The sign says “for everyone’s safety.” That’s a bad joke. NO ONE is made safer by “gun-free-zone” policies. Those who carry legally are a threat to no one; those who would be a threat carry illegally anyway, regardless of policies. As far as I know, the museum has never had any issues with people who were carrying concealed handguns and caused problems.

I had a pleasant conversation with a manager from the museum; She was friendly and approachable, and I was given an opportunity to calmly explain to her my objection to the policy and to voice my disappointment that because of its anti-gun policy, the museum now is a no-go zone for me. I even got to articulate to the manager that such a policy causes gun carriers to have to decide to either:

not visit the museum at all leave their defensive firearms at home leave their defensive firearms in their vehicles in the unpatrolled parking lot, which makes them vulnerable to theft

None of these options is palatable to me, but I’ll be taking the first one until such time as the museum’s management thinks better of this nonsense. The manager gave me contact information I can use to explain my position and voice my displeasure. She also said she will endeavor to get my $5 parking fee refunded, per my request. That courtesy is appreciated, even though it is small consolation.

Do I sound like the kind of person the museum should want to keep out via a wrongheaded, do-nothing policy?

le...

The Norton Museum was an experience my 19 and 21 year old children wanted to experience while on vacation in West Palm Beach. They love immersing themselves in art from around the world and various time periods. The Norton did not disappoint. The expansive first level consisted of a wide variety of time periods like the Renaissance to world renown artist like Picasso. It is always intriguing for me to read about each painting and the meaning behind them.

All our our favorite piece collectively at the Norton and any museum to date for that matter was Purity. A white Iranian onyx sculpture by Barry X Ball. It was unlike anything we have ever seen as we stared in awe of its beauty. We each had our own second liking as well. For me it was the painting by Mark Tansey called Triumph over Mastery II. The longer I stared at it, the more I saw. It was difficult for me to walk away and I actually went back again to to take it all in one more time before leaving. The Colossal Buddha Head dating back to circa 673-705 was an intriguing artifact that also grabbed my eye especially from that era. I collect buddha heads to this was indeed a delight for me to see.

The museum consists of three floors. It took us about 2.5 hours to go through the museum but keep in mind I read about most of the pieces in there so it took me a little longer. I want to also mention that I thought it was so cool walking up to the museum to see the art in front. My kids didn't know what the art piece was so I explained it to them...guess I dated myself a little bit. I will not say what it is so you can guess if you don't know either but will post a picture.

There is a parking lot across the street where you can park all day for $5.00. Adults are $18.00 for admission and students are $5.00 (must show student ID). Healthcare, Military and first responders are free, again with ID. I forgot mind because I was on vacation and didn't think I would need it so I paid full price.

Overall it was a great museum and would highly...