Presenting Painter Irving Norman: Part 1

Hell of a Time © Irving Norman 1954
All images in this series are presented with Hela Norman's permission.

Several years ago I was making one of my rare visits to a museum. I never seem to find the time, and often a visit to a museum leaves me feeling depressed about art. I know that's an unusual reaction by an artist but that's what happens. Most often I find more exciting ideas and innovations in the museum bookstore than in the bowels of the institution itself. There have been several rare and notable exhibits that I had powerful reactions to. One of them was the first time I saw an Irving Norman painting.






















Hell of a Time (detail) © Irving Norman 1954
All images in this series are presented with Hela Norman's permission.

I was wandering through the under-funded Oakland Museum here in Northern California when I found myself in a far corner of the museum I'd never explored before. There I found, tucked away, possibly the very best painting in the entire museum. It's called "Hell of a Time" and was painted by Irving Norman, an artist I'd never heard of before.

The fact is Irving Norman's monumental social realism was mostly ignored by the art world during his lifetime and still doesn't get the respect and admiration it deserves. I'm pleased to report, however, that there is currently an excellent exhibit of many of his paintings, (and a few rare drawings) of this little-known Northern California political artist.

I will be presenting more images of Norman's work as well as some writings about him in the coming days. I hope you find his art as exciting and inspirational as I do. It's of course best to see in person but barring that, I'll try to give you an idea of what it's like as best I can.













Hell of a Time (detail) © Irving Norman 1954
All images in this series are presented with Hela Norman's permission.

See Irving Norman's paintings and drawings live and in person on exhibit now in Sacramento, CA. This rare opportunity to see some of the painter's best works, at The Crocker Museum ends January 7, 2007.

Please respect the work of the artists you see here and be sure to credit them when you share their artwork with others.

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