Norton Simon Museum to Present Manet’s ‘The Execution of Maximilian’ on Loan from London’s National Gallery

The Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena will present ‘Making History: Manet’s “Execution of Maximilian” from the National Gallery, London,’ an exhibition centered on Édouard Manet’s ‘The Execution of Maximilian.’ The presentation is scheduled to open on November 13, 2026. The announcement identifies the work as a loan from the National Gallery in London.

The exhibition is listed among the Norton Simon Museum’s forthcoming exhibitions in a September 2026 museum newsletter. It is separate from ‘The Art of Kandy: Sri Lanka’s Last Kingdom,’ another Norton Simon exhibition announced for September 4, and from the museum’s autumn programme of tours, sketching sessions and family events.

The featured painting is credited to the National Gallery, London, and is dated circa 1867–68. The museum’s image credit identifies it as an oil painting on canvas by Manet, who lived from 1832 to 1883. The supplied announcement does not specify whether the exhibition will include additional paintings, preparatory works or historical documents, and it does not provide a closing date.

Manet’s work is presented under the title ‘The Execution of Maximilian,’ while the exhibition title uses the shorter form ‘Execution of Maximilian.’ The announcement does not include a curatorial statement or describe the exhibition’s interpretation of the painting. It does, however, frame the presentation as a focused exhibition devoted to a work held by London’s National Gallery.

The Norton Simon Museum is located at 411 West Colorado Boulevard in Pasadena, California. Its collection and public programming span European and Asian art, according to the museum material accompanying the announcement. The institution’s September newsletter also lists the presentation alongside its exhibition devoted to art from Kandy, a former royal capital of Sri Lanka, but that separate project is not part of the Manet exhibition.

‘Making History: Manet’s “Execution of Maximilian” from the National Gallery, London’ opens at the Norton Simon Museum on November 13, 2026. No end date or further exhibition details were provided in the announcement.