In building the Museum Collection to include critical artworks of our time, the Norton is working to acquire Alice Neel’s significant example of 20^th-century painting, Virginia Miller, 1978.

Please consider making a gift to support the Norton’s acquisition of this significant painting. More than 80 years after its founding, the Museum continues to build upon Ralph Norton’s legacy by making outstanding art accessible to our thriving community for generations to come. Your contribution will enable the Norton to further its mission by introducing this exceptional work into the permanent collection and creating—for the first time—a home for Alice Neel within a Florida museum.

Join us in this exciting effort, and make your gift today!

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In recognition of our community’s generosity, “Norton Visitors” will be acknowledged in perpetuity within the work’s credit line alongside other lead commitments.

"I painted in obscurity for years and years. If I didn't paint all the time I probably wouldn't live. That's what keeps me alive." - Alice Neel

Alice Neel’s fascination with people fueled her production of candidly painted portraits. Although her artistic career began in the early 1920s, it was not until the 1970s that Neel gained great acclaim. In 1977, Neel met Florida-based art dealer Virginia Miller at a conference at The New School where significant figures of the art world gathered, including influential critic and contemporary curator Henry Geldzahler. Miller sat for this portrait in Neel’s New York apartment soon after the seminar and organized the first exhibition of Neel’s work in Florida the following year. Miller recounted when Neel painted the background of this portrait that the artist grew frustrated as she recalled her recent exchange with Geldzahler at The New School panel. Geldzahler justified his exclusion of Neel’s work from an exhibition at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, suggesting it lacked “modern” qualities. In her dissatisfaction, Neel stated, “I’ll show him who’s modern,” and looked towards Abstract Expressionism to create the vibrant patchwork of yellows and greens that bleed and drip in places.