Hela Norman Establishes Charitable Remainder Trust
Hela Norman recently established a Charitable Remainder Trust, naming the Crocker Art Museum as the recipient. The proceeds from the trust, which will grow as paintings are sold, will likely one day total between $2,000,000 and $3,000,000. This money will be used to establish the Irving and Hela Norman Artists Exhibition Fellowship, which aims to further the careers of artists whose work displays a critical attitude toward contemporary life.
The Trust began in part because of the Crocker Art Museum's exhibition Dark Metropolis: Irving Norman's Social Surrealism, which traveled last year to Washington D.C. during its national tour. While there, one of New York's premier gallery owners saw Norman's paintings and was stunned. Unfamiliar with the highly detailed, socially critical work, he immediately became interested in promoting the artist's legacy in the East.
Hela Norman has cared for the paintings since Irving Norman's death and has worked unselfishly to bring these paintings before the public—often at great personal sacrifice. Rather than keep the funds generated by the sale of these paintings for herself, she has decided to help others. The Charitable Remainder Trust will enable the Crocker to provide artists with opportunities for exhibitions and publications of their work. It is an extraordinary commitment both to the Museum and to promising artists with much to say.
The Crocker would like to thank Hela Norman for her generosity and the late Irving Norman for his paintings, which are now getting the attention they richly deserve.