The 1991 Introspective
In 1989, Norma’s grandson Eric Smith, was curious to understand how much work she actually produced over her previous 40 years.
He started canvassing everyone that he and Norma knew had artwork, which predominantly consisted of Norma’s family and friends. A majority of her artworks were in the collections of her three daughters and grandchildren. The remainder were sold to family, friends and collectors over the decades.
What he discovered were close to 500 canvases, collages, and works on paper. In response he decided to organize and mount an ‘Introspective’ of Norma’s artwork on the eve of her 90th birthday. In that process Eric and Norma together selected about 230 pieces for the exhibition.
Ultimately in 1991 Eric rented a ground floor SOHO gallery at 112 Green Street, where he and Norma spent three weeks hanging the work and hosting family, friends, and visitors. At the time, none of the artwork were available for sale. Norma never produced the work as a commercial venture, rather only for her personal enjoyment and creative fulfillment.
During this time, Eric made numerous video recordings of Norma speaking about her artwork. He also commissioned a video portrait ‘Norma At 90’ which showed the hanging of the exhibition, a selection of which are included here, in this website.