Elizabeth Norton (artist)
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Elizabeth Sawyer Norton (1887–1985) was an American artist, known for her bronze sculptures, paintings, and printmaking. The subject of her work often featured animals, landscapes and/or portraits. She lived in
Palo Alto, California Palo Alto ( ; Spanish language, Spanish for ) is a charter city in northwestern Santa Clara County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area, named after a Sequoia sempervirens, coastal redwood tree known as El Palo Alto. Th ...
, from 1919 until her death in 1985.


Early life and education

Elizabeth Sawyer Norton was born December 16, 1887, in
Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
,
Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...
, to lawyer James Sanger Norton (1844–1896) and Frances Julia Rumsey (1850–1933). Norton studied fine art at the
Art Institute of Chicago The Art Institute of Chicago, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the United States. The museum is based in the Art Institute of Chicago Building in Chicago's Grant Park (Chicago), Grant Park. Its collection, stewa ...
in 1910. She continued her studies at
Art Students League of New York The Art Students League of New York is an art school in the American Fine Arts Society in Manhattan, New York City. The Arts Students League is known for its broad appeal to both amateurs and professional artists. Although artists may study f ...
with Frank DuMond, the
National Academy of Design The National Academy of Design is an honorary association of American artists, founded in New York City in 1825 by Samuel Morse, Asher Durand, Thomas Cole, Frederick Styles Agate, Martin E. Thompson, Charles Cushing Wright, Ithiel Town, an ...
of New York and the Chase School (which later became
Parsons School of Design The Parsons School of Design is a private art and design college under The New School located in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of New York City. Founded in 1896 after a group of progressive artists broke away from established Manhattan art ...
). While still living in New York City, one of her students was sculptor, Katharine Underhill (born 1892).


Career

Norton had a successful career and exhibited her art in many galleries in New York City. She had made artistic contributions to exhibitions at the
Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, Education center, education and Research institute, research centers, created by the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government "for the increase a ...
throughout her career. She had an older sister named Frances Sanger Norton (married name, Brown) that had moved to Palo Alto, California because her husband Harry Brown was a professor in the Philosophy Department at Stanford University. Norton traveled to California in 1915 to attend to
Panama–Pacific International Exposition The Panama–Pacific International Exposition was a world's fair held in San Francisco, California, United States, from February 20 to December 4, 1915. Its stated purpose was to celebrate the completion of the Panama Canal, but it was widely s ...
(PPIE) and to visit her sister. She returned four years later in 1919 to move to Palo Alto, after struggling with bouts with the flu. Her brother-in-law Harry Brown designed her home at 353 Lowell Avenue. When Norton moved to California she became interested in printmaking, prior to which she primarily worked in sculpture, pastels, and oil paint. Norton was a founding member of the Palo Alto Art Club (now the Pacific Art League) in 1921. Norton was a member of the
California Society of Etchers The California Society of Printmakers (CSP) is the oldest continuously operating association of printmakers and friends of printmakers in the United States. CSP is a 501(c)(3) non-profit arts organization with an international membership of print ...
; Palo Alto Art Club (now known as the Pacific Art League);
American Federation of Arts The American Federation of Arts (AFA) is a nonprofit organization that creates art exhibitions for presentation in museums around the world, publishes exhibition catalogues, and develops education programs. The organization’s founding in 1909 ...
; and San Francisco Women Painters.


Death and legacy

In the last 20 years of Norton's life she lived at ''Channing House'', a retirement community in Palo Alto. Norton died on August 7, 1985, in Palo Alto, California, and is buried in Chicago at the
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. Her work is in many public museum collections including the
Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art, colloquially referred to as the Met, is an Encyclopedic museum, encyclopedic art museum in New York City. By floor area, it is the List of largest museums, third-largest museum in the world and the List of larg ...
, the
Fogg Museum of Art The Harvard Art Museums are part of Harvard University and comprise three museums: the Fogg Museum (established in 1895), the Busch-Reisinger Museum (established in 1903), and the Arthur M. Sackler Museum (established in 1985), and four research ...
,
Yale University Art Gallery The Yale University Art Gallery (YUAG) is an art museum in New Haven, Connecticut. It houses a major encyclopedic collection of art in several interconnected buildings on the campus of Yale University. Although it embraces all cultures and period ...
,
Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art is an art gallery, art museum in Kansas City, Missouri, Kansas City, Missouri, known for its encyclopedic collection of art from nearly every continent and culture, and especially for its extensive collection of A ...
,
Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco (FAMSF), comprising the de Young Museum in Golden Gate Park and the Legion of Honor in Lincoln Park, is the largest public arts institution in the city of San Francisco. FAMSF's combined attendance was 1,1 ...
(FAMSF), the Smithsonian Institution's
National Portrait Gallery National Portrait Gallery may refer to: * National Portrait Gallery (Australia), in Canberra * National Portrait Gallery (Sweden), in Mariefred *National Portrait Gallery (United States), in Washington, D.C. *National Portrait Gallery, London ...
, among others. The Pacific Art League of Palo Alto has dedicated a solo-exhibition gallery in her name, the "Elizabeth Norton studio" and the "Elizabeth Norton Distinguished Service Award". Her bronze bust of
David Starr Jordan David Starr Jordan (January 19, 1851 – September 19, 1931) was the founding president of Stanford University, serving from 1891 to 1913. He was an ichthyologist during his research career. Prior to serving as president of Stanford Universi ...
is on display at
Hoover Institution The Hoover Institution (officially The Hoover Institution on War, Revolution, and Peace and formerly The Hoover Institute and Library on War, Revolution, and Peace) is an American public policy think tank which promotes personal and economic ...
at Stanford University.


Exhibitions

* 1920 – Stanford University, Stanford, California * 1926 – Series of animal wood block prints,
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, San Francisco, California * 1929 – Courvoisier Gallery, San Francisco, California * 1939 –
Golden Gate International Exposition The Golden Gate International Exposition (GGIE) was a World's Fair held at Treasure Island in San Francisco, California, U.S. The exposition operated from February 18, 1939, through October 29, 1939, and from May 25, 1940, through September 29, ...
, San Francisco, California * 1942 – solo exhibition of sculptures and watercolors,
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, Sacramento, California * 1942 –
National Academy of Design The National Academy of Design is an honorary association of American artists, founded in New York City in 1825 by Samuel Morse, Asher Durand, Thomas Cole, Frederick Styles Agate, Martin E. Thompson, Charles Cushing Wright, Ithiel Town, an ...
, New York City, New York * 1944 – American Color Print Society, New York City, New York * 1946 – Wichita Art Association, Wichita, Kanas * 1950 – Stanford University, Stanford, California


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Norton, Elizabeth 1887 births 1985 deaths Artists from Palo Alto, California School of the Art Institute of Chicago alumni Art Students League of New York alumni National Academy of Design alumni Parsons School of Design alumni American women printmakers 20th-century American women sculptors 20th-century American sculptors Artists from Chicago