Objects of Wonder: Four Centuries of Still Life from the Norton Museum of Art

Still-life works embrace a moment in time and create a memory that combines real life and its representation in art. Objects of Wonder: Four Centuries of Still Life from the Norton Museum of Art is a selection of more than 50 paintings, sculptures, and photographs from the 17th through the 20th centuries that focuses on the depiction of inanimate objects. Featured artists include Marsden Hartley, Henri Matisse, Robert Mapplethorpe, Pablo Picasso, Marc Chagall, and Yinka Shonibare. This exhibition presents important works that illustrate both aspects of the genre­—objects as stand-alone imagery and those serving as one element of a larger composition. The out-of-the-ordinary assortment of works come together to form such themes as table settings, flowers, fruits and vegetables, fish, and works in three dimensions. Along with the Norton Museum of Art’s selections, the exhibition includes numerous examples of still life from the Portland Museum of Art’s collection as well as from private lenders. In addition, embedded within the exhibition is an interactive cabinet of curiosities—a cabinet, which not only displays unique decorative art objects from the Museum’s collection, but also allows visitors to create and sketch their own still-life arrangements.