Van Gogh in Pasadena
Southern California is home to many outstanding museums, museums that possess some of the world’s best known art treasures in their permanent collections. But every so often, a single blockbuster work of…
By Saul Gonzalez • • 1 min readNorton Simon curator Carol Togneri shares her knowledge and affection for Vincent van Gogh with KCRW’s Saul Gonzalez. The painting is flanked by some of Van Gogh’s other works, including a portrait of his mother to the left.
Southern California is home to many outstanding museums, museums that possess some of the world’s best known art treasures in their permanent collections. But every so often, a single blockbuster work of art comes to town, one synonymous with creative genius and known by millions of people around the world.
That’s the case now at Pasadena’s Norton Simon Museum. For a few more weeks, it’s displaying an 1889 self-portrait by Vincent van Gogh on loan from the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C. In his lifetime, the famously troubled Van Gogh was known by some around him as “The Red Headed Madman” because of his paranoia, fear of others, and massive mood swings. He had so many troubles, Van Gogh committed himself to a mental asylum. It’s there that he painted the work on display in Pasadena.
Listen to our full KCRW story about the painting and Vincent van Gogh here:
Van Gogh’s self-portrait will be in Pasadena through March 4th, where it’s on display with other Van Gogh works in the Norton Simon’s permanent collection. If you’re looking to drink in Van Gogh’s talent and genius while saving some money (Van Gogh was always on the edge of financial desperation, so he would understand), the Norton Simon is offering free admission on March 1st.