‘Finish Line’
“All I was was money at the finish line,” he said. “It’s the board that did this, they deserve the credit.”
Plans to reimagine the museum began in 2010 when trustee Gil Maurer, who’d hired Foster to design the Hearst Tower, called the architect’s office (cozily located in Hearst Tower) about the Norton. Griffin came into the picture in the summer of 2016, when a Chicago friend, Jim Gordon, invited him to dine at Nobu in Aspen with Bruce Gendelman, a Palm Beach friend championing the project.
“The key was that Ken gave me his cell phone number,” Gendelman said. He used it to send Griffin articles and updates on the Norton project about every six weeks, until one day he gave Griffin a tour of the new building, having arranged for a random mix of letters on the entrance to show off the naming rights.
Past, Future
“I saw the space several months ago and I said ‘This is really an opportunity to do something special in Palm Beach, to honor my past and honor my future,’” said Griffin, who grew up in nearby Boca Raton. “It is spectacular. The galleries are beautiful. It’s wonderful to see all the local collectors’ works on display.”
The Norton’s leaders are hoping collectors like Griffin will decide to help it build and enhance its collections, and the opening exhibitions are designed to showcase the range of possibilities. There’s a room of just-finished paintings by black artist Nina Chanel Abney, with a Stuart Davis work hanging nearby. A Jenny Saville charcoal drawing of a Madonna and child hangs beside a lush 18th-century Italian painting. There are Chinese jades and work by Ed Ruscha, Picasso and Braque.
What does part-time resident Griffin like about Palm Beach? “I love to bike, I love to play soccer with my kids in the backyard,” Griffin said.
And then there’s the people to spend time with.
“It’s a great eclectic mix, that brings my Chicago and Northeast bases together in one place much more than any other place I could be,” Griffin said. “That’s what Palm Beach is.”
This article was provided by Bloomberg News.