Full Description
The eloquent story of Eileen Harris Norton's collection and its pivotal role in championing the work of women artists, artists of color, and changing narratives of contemporary art.
Since she acquired her very first artwork from Los Angeles printmaker Ruth Waddy in 1976, Eileen Harris Norton's collection has bloomed into an astonishing trove of artworks reflecting her interest in the practices of women and artists of color, and work made in California. Alongside an exhibition of the same name at Hauser & Wirth Los Angeles, Destiny Is a Rose celebrates fifty years of Norton's remarkable collection, taking its title from a painting in the collection by Kerry James Marshall and featuring numerous iconic works of contemporary art by Mark Bradford, Felix Gonzalez-Torres, David Hammons, Glenn Ligon, Yoshimoto Nara, Adrian Piper, Betye Saar, Lorna Simpson, Carrie Mae Weems, and more. Texts by art historian Dr. Kellie Jones and curator Ingrid Shaffner delve into the critical role that education and philanthropy, representation and identity, and personal relationships with artists and curators have played in shaping Harris Norton's visionary collecting practice. Offering deep insight into the act and impact of collecting, Destiny Is a Rose is a tribute to Harris Norton's ongoing role as a vital agent of change and growth within the contemporary art world.
Destiny Is a Rose: The Eileen Harris Norton Collection is published on the occasion of an exhibition of works from The Eileen Harris Norton Collection at Hauser & Wirth Los Angeles in February 2026.
