Photos: Norton Museum of Art Raises Nearly $5 Million at Annual Gala
The February 7 fundraiser in West Palm Beach drew nearly 700 guests to a 17th-century Dutch still life-themed evening.
The Norton Museum of Art hosted its annual Gala fundraiser Saturday, February 7, 2026, which featured its seventh Gala Auction hosted by Oliver Barker, Chairman, Sotheby’s Europe. The event, attended by nearly 700 people, raised a total of nearly $5 million to support the Norton’s Curatorial, Learning and Community Engagement programs. See photos from the event here!
“We are grateful to the supporters of the Norton Museum of Art, who help us provide access to world-class art through exhibitions, programming, and events for all of the West Palm Beach community and beyond,” said Ghislain d’Humières, Kenneth C. Griffin Director and CEO. “Their generosity ensures the Museum can continue to achieve the vision of founder Ralph Norton as well as usher the Museum into the next era. I thank Board Chair Kelly Williams and the Gala Co-Chairs for planning this exquisite evening.”
The gala featured a cocktail party, dinner, dancing, and the live auction hosted in partnership with Sotheby’s. Gala Co-Chairs Audrey Gruss, Sue Hostetler, and Josephine Kalisman worked with designer Chris Hessney of Hessney & Co. to create a space evocative of a 17th-century Dutch still life, with long tables lit by candles, overflowing with fruit and flowers.
The Gala Chairs were assisted by a team of Vice Chairs, Candace Barasch, Lorna James, Beth Rudin DeWoody, Lisa Tananbaum and Silvia Zoullas.
Guests feasted on Rembrandt’s Rosti—a potato pancake crowned with crème fraîche and caviar—followed by Salmon Wellington. After dinner, guests entered a dessert room, where tiers of confections, passed petits fours, and dancing carried the night forward.
Kelly Williams, Chair of the Norton’s Board of Trustees, welcomed the guests and honored Trustee Ronnie Heyman as the Patron Honoree. D’Humières gave remarks during the Gala dinner and honored Artist Loie Hollowell. Both honorees addressed the guests, and Hollowell offered the heartfelt story behind her series of Brain paintings, inspired by her father, the artist David Hollowell, who suffered a brain injury. Works by David Hollowell and Loie Hollowell are currently on exhibition side by side at the Norton. Loie Hollowell’s Blue brain on flesh shoulders, a 2025 work, was sold in the live auction.
The Oliver Barker-hosted auction also featured four additional works of art by artists Julie Curtiss, Jeffrey Gibson, Jessie Henson, and Marilyn Minter.
Alina de Almeida Paulson and John Paulson
Anne and Chris Reyes
Ashley Holzer, Rusty Holzer and Jane Holzer
Caroline Fitzgibbons and Tad Smith
Daisy Soros and Carol Moran
Francine and Euclid Walker
Gala honoree Ronnie Heyman (third from left) and family
Ghislain d'Humieres, Kelly Williams, Josephine Kalisman, Audrey Gruss and Sue Hostetler
Ghislain d'Humieres, Ronnie Heyman and Kelly Williams
Heidi and Thomas McWilliams
Jim and Irene Karp and Bill Bone
Katherine Bryan and George Hamilton
Kathryn and Leo Vecellio
Kelly Williams and Andrew Forsyth
Kimberly and Neil Bluhm
Lew and Ali Sanders
Artist Loie Hollowell
Lorna James, Keith James and Sarah Alsofrom
Martin and Audrey Gruss
Maynard Monrow, Beth Rudin DeWoody, Mera and Don Rubell
Mitchell and Hilarie Morgan
Nikki Harris, Bruce and Lori Gendelman
Oliver Barker leads the Norton auction.
Rick Salomon and Laura Landro
Sophocles and Silvia Zoullas
Tommy and Dee Hilfiger
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