Jane Holzer’s Generous Surprise at the Norton

Photo: Caitlyn Keith, Alejandro Cohen, Ghislain d’Humières, Daisy Soros, Sabiha Prova, and Jose Alvarez

02/20/2026

At the opening reception for Portrait Mode: Self-Reflections from Past, Present, and Future, a juried student exhibition and competition, 66 young artists from across Palm Beach County gathered to see their work on the Norton Museum of Art’s walls, a wonderful feat in and of itself. The show began as a contest, with more than 250 middle and high school students submitting self-portraits inspired by the Norton’s presentation of Art and Life in Rembrandt’s Time: Masterpieces from The Leiden Collection. From those entries, 66 were selected for exhibition, with first, second, and third place prizes to be awarded.

Jane Holzer, philanthropist, Norton Trustee, and member of the jury, was charged with helping make those final distinctions. The difficulty, she found, was that the work was too strong to narrow down comfortably, so she did something else.

Instead of awarding three prizes, Holzer surprised each of the 66 exhibiting students with a $1,000 scholarship.

For many of these young artists, that kind of support makes a real difference, whether it goes toward supplies, tuition, or simply the freedom to keep creating. It was an unmistakably generous gesture, and one that reflects Holzer’s long and lively relationship with the art world.

Best known as one of Andy Warhol’s muses during the electric days of the 1960s New York scene, Holzer has spent decades as a collector, patron, and cultural force in her own right. In Palm Beach, she has remained deeply involved with the Norton, championing both major exhibitions and emerging talent.

The student exhibition itself was made possible through major support from the Mr. and Mrs. Hamish Maxwell Exhibition Endowment, Point Gammon Foundation, Brian and Julie Simmons, Daisy Soros and Family, and the Soter Ziegler Foundation, underscoring the community investment behind the museum’s education initiatives.

It is hard to imagine a better opening-night story: a room full of young artists, proud families, and a juror who decided the best prize was encouragement, across the board.