Photos:: Norton Simon’s Duveen collection
In 1964, Norton Simon purchased the entire inventory of the Duveen Brothers gallery in New York. Among the holdings was a 14th century fresco of St. Anthony, from left, the 13th/14th century “St. Michael and the Dragon as Virtue Overcoming Vice” and the 16th century “The Birth of Adonis.” They are shown in “Lock, Stock and Barrel,” focusing on the purchase, at the Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena. (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)
Titian’s “Salome With the Head of John the Baptist” was part of the Duveen purchase, which transformed Norton Simon’s collection. (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)
The “Fête Champêtre” suite, part of the Duveen purchase, is shown in the current exhibition. (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)
A conservator exposed a bit of the portrait that was painted over when someone made a copy of Titian’s “Portrait of Giacomo Dolfin.” The piece was left that way at Norton Simon’s insistence. (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)
Norton Simon in 1980. (Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times)
Paintings from the “Fête Champêtre” series are displayed in the Norton Simon Museum’s “Lock, Stock and Barrel: Norton Simon and the House of Duveen” exhibition. (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)
In the foreground is “Rape of Proserpina (Rape of the Sabine Woman),” a 16th century Flemish work, by Jean Boulogne, called Giambologna. It’s in the Norton Simon Museum’s exhibition about the Duveen purchase. (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)
“Portrait of Pierre Lepautre, Sculptor” is at left, next to “Portrait of the Marquis of d’Havrincourt.” Both are by the 17th/18th century French painter Nicolas de Largillière. (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)
“Flying Mercury,” a 17th century bronze from Northern Europe, stands in the foreground of a gallery holding the “Lock, Stock and Barrel” exhibition at the Norton Simon Museum. (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)
Marble figures of angels playing musical instruments, made in Italy in the 14th century, are part of the Norton Simon Museum’s in-depth look at its holdings from the Duveen gallery. (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)
“Madonna and Child in Landscape,” a 15th century Italian painting by Giovanni Bellini, is seen in the foreground. It’s in the Norton Simon Museum’s “Lock, Stock and Barrel: Norton Simon and the House of Duveen” exhibition. (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)
Another view of “Flying Mercury” in its gallery in “Lock, Stock and Barrel” at the Norton Simon Museum. (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)
Norton Simon’s purchase of the Duveen gallery holdings confirmed his position in the front rank of collectors and instantly identified him with work by Old Masters. These are some of the works, now on view at the Norton Simon Museum. (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)
“Holy Family With Music-Making Angels,” a 16th century tapestry from Brussels, is displayed in the Norton Simon Museum’s “Lock, Stock and Barrel: Norton Simon and the House of Duveen.” The exhibition is on view through April 27, 2015. (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)
