Old Master Grandeur and Modern Patronage Converge at the 2026 Norton Museum of Art Gala

February 17, 2026 / Rolling Stone British /

Inspired by “Art and Life in Rembrandt’s Time: Masterpieces from the Leiden Collection,” the evening’s design paid homage to the enduring legacy of 17th-century Dutch painting. Photo: Carrie Bradburn/CAPEHART

The Norton Museum of Art’s annual gala has in recent years become a consequential stop on the winter social calendar for artsy snowbirds. This year’s fête drew nearly 700 guests to the institution not only for cocktails, dinner and dancing but also for a live auction hosted by Oliver Barker, chairman of Sotheby’s Europe, with works by Julie Curtiss, Jeffrey Gibson, Jessie Henson and Marilyn Minter. The program, officiated by Norton director and CEO Ghislain d’Humières, honored museum trustee Ronnie Heyman and artist Loie Hollowell, whose own Blue brain on flesh shoulders (2025) was included in the live sale.

The gala’s atmosphere was itself a carefully orchestrated nod to “Art and Life in Rembrandt’s Time: Masterpieces from the Leiden Collection,” on view at the museum through March 29. Gala co-chairs Audrey Gruss, Sue Hostetler and Josephine Kalisman, alongside vice chairs Candace Barasch, Lorna James, collector Beth Rudin DeWoody, Lisa Tananbaum and Silvia Zoullas, collaborated with designer Chris Hessney to transform the space into a living homage to 17th-century Dutch still lifes. Candlelit tables, heavy velvet and lush arrangements of flowers created a tableau that vividly echoed the opulence and theatricality of the Old Masters.

Oliver Barker leads the Norton auction. Photo: Carrie Bradburn/CAPEHART

But, as is often the case, it was the gala’s guest list that revealed the true currency of the evening: generosity. The event raised nearly $5 million to support the museum’s curatorial, learning and community engagement programs, the fundraising efforts fueled by a concentrated mix of cultural power brokers, financial titans and legacy-defining collectors. Among the VIPs were collectors Mera Rubell and Don Rubell, whose family collection has helped shape the canon of contemporary art, Hilary Ross and Wilbur Ross (the billionaire financier and former U.S. Secretary of Commerce), and Jim Karp and Irene Karp.

Also in attendance were fashion power couple Tommy Hilfiger and Dee Hilfiger, philanthropists Kimberly Bluhm and Neil Bluhm, Martin Gruss and Audrey Gruss and Lew Sanders and Ali Sanders, as well as Warhol muse Jane Holzer, actor George Hamilton and artist Maynard Monrow. Billionaire business leaders Aerin Lauder and Julia Koch rounded out the roster at an event that placed artistic prestige and economic power on equal footing in service of not only the museum’s mission but also the broader artistic and civic life of Palm Beach.