“Destiny is a Rose: The Eileen Harris Norton Collection” at Hauser & Wirth in Los Angeles is a compelling and thoughtfully curated exhibition that reflects the vision of a passionate collector deeply connected to the artists she supports.
A third-generation Californian, Eileen Harris Norton grew up in Watts in a 1950s working-class family and went on to become an English as a Second Language elementary school teacher. Her introduction to the arts came through museum visits, trips to the Laguna Beach Festival of Arts, Alvin Ailey performances, and Saturday morning Metropolitan Opera broadcasts with her family.
In 1976, shortly after graduating from college, she attended a printmaking demonstration at a Crenshaw mall with her mother. There, she encountered Ruth Waddy’s Exhorters (1976) and purchased it directly from the artist. That moment marked the beginning of a collection centered on supporting women artists, artists of color, artists connected to California, and other contemporary voices.
Taking its title from Kerry James Marshall’s painting Destiny is a Rose (1990), the exhibition brings together over 80 works collected across five decades. Included are artists such as Mark Bradford, Carrie Mae Weems, Lorna Simpson, David Hammons, Glenn Ligon, Felix Gonzalez-Torres, Senga Nengudi, Patrick Martinez, Beatriz Milhazes, Catherine Opie, Amy Sherald, Betye Saar, Kara Walker, and Henry Taylor, among many others.
What stands out is the depth of connection between Harris Norton and the artists. Many of these works reflect long-term relationships built through studio visits and sustained engagement. As she has said, “They weren’t investments; they were relationships—pieces to live with and be changed by.”
The exhibition offers a meaningful example of what it looks like to build a collection with intention over time.
—Cherry Dickinson, a Reader Reflection
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