ILLINOIS HISTORICAL ART PROJECT
Norton, John Warner[1]
BORN: March 7, 1876 Lockport, IL
DIED: January 7, 1934 Charleston, SC[2]
MARRIED: September 2, 1903 Margaret Washburn Francis of Rock Island, IL[3]
TRAINING
1890-1893 D. A. Holbrook military preparatory school, Ossining, NY
1893-1895 Harvard School for Boys, Chicago
1895-1897 Harvard University
1897, 1899-1901 Art Institute of Chicago with Frederick H. Richardson and John H. Vanderpoel
1902 Art Institute of Chicago, Gari Melchers[4]
1928 Master of Fine Arts, School of the Art Institute of Chicago[5]
ART RELATED EMPLOYMENT[6]
c.1900 Illustrator Lampoon[7]
1900 Illustrator, Daily Inter Ocean
1901 Illustrations Blue Sky magazine, Blue Sky Press[8]
1902 Illustrations, The Inland Printer[9]
1902 Cover illustration, annual exhibition catalogue, Art Students’ League of Chicago[10]
1904 Illustration paintings, Santa Fe Railroad, Chicago[11]
1904 Mural, South Division High School, Chicago[12]
1904 Mural, Grand Cañon Hotel, Arizona[13]
1905 Mural Painting, Music, Architecture, Sculpture, and Science, William McKinley School, Chicago[14]
1907 Illustrated, The Iron Wave, McClurg & Co., Chicago
1908 Partners with Walter J. Enright and Ralph Fletcher Seymour in mural painting[15]
1910 Illustrated Don McGrath: A Tale of the River by Randall Parrish
1910 Illustrated With Sully Into the Sioux Land and 1912 With Carrinton on the Bozeman Road by Joseph Mills Hanson
1910 Mural Navaho, Cliff Dwellers Club, Chicago[16]
1914 Decorative medallions (destroyed), dining room, LaSalle Hotel for architects Holabird & Roche, Chicago with William Penhallow Henderson[17]
1913-1914 Nine murals, Fuller Park Assembly Hall, Chicago Park District, D. H. Burnham & Co. architects[18]
1914 Interior designs (destroyed), Midway Gardens, Chicago, for Frank Lloyd Wright[19]
1915 Murals, Louis XVI dining room, LaSalle Hotel, Chicago[20]
1915 Murals, Wolfgang A. Mozart Elementary School, Chicago[21]
1916 Murals, Hamilton Park Field House, Chicago Park District, D. H. Burnham & Co. architects[22]
1917 Decorative scheme, head office library, Alexander Brothers Manufacturing, Philadelphia, for architects Purcell & Elmslie[23]
1917 Commercial illustration, Alexander Brothers Belting Co., Philadelphia
1918 U. S. Liberty Bonds poster[24]
1917-1918 Interior decorations and murals, Woodbury County Courthouse, Sioux City, Iowa for architects Purcell & Elmslie[25]
1918 Murals, Summy house, Hinsdale, Illinois, Purcell & Elmslie architects
1920 Commercial illustration, J. Walter Thompson, Chicago[26]
1923 Mural, National Farmer’s Bank (Norwest), Owatonna, Minnesota for Purcell & Elmslie
1923 Murals, Babson house remodeling, Riverside, Illinois, Louis Sullivan original architect, Purcell & Elmslie following architects
1923-1924 Murals, Frank G. Logan Archaeological Museum, Beloit College[27]
1924 Kindergarten design including murals, furniture, stage and sets, Helen C. Peirce Elementary School, Chicago[28]
1924 Decorative panels, Ernest Hamill Apartments, Chicago[29]
1924 Mural, Capitol Building and Loan Association, Topeka, Kansas (destroyed) for Purcell & Elmslie
1925 Mural, First National Bank of Adams, Minnesota for Purcell & Elmslie
1925 Mural, Old Second National Bank, Aurora, Illinois for architect George Elmslie[30]
1928 Mural, Chicago Motor Club [now a hotel], for architects Holabird & Root[31]
1928 Mural Pagan Paradise, Tavern Club, Chicago for architects Holabird & Root[32]
1929 Mural Gathering the News, Printing the News, Distributing the News (removed, storage), Chicago Daily New Building, for Holabird & Root[33]
1930 Mural Ceres, Chicago Board of Trade[34]
1930 Mural, New Lands n North America Explored and Evangelized by Fathers of the Society of Jesus, Elizabeth M. Cudahy Memorial Library, Loyola University, Chicago[35]
1931-1932 Mural, Hurley Memorial Hall of Commerce, University of Notre Dame
1931-1932 Mural (destroyed), Chicago Normal College Auditorium[36]
1931-1932 Murals Old South and New South, Jefferson County Courthouse, Birmingham, Alabama for Holabird & Root[37]
1932 Mural, Ramsey County Courthouse and City Hall Council Chambers, St. Paul for Holabird & Root[38]
1933 Murals History of Applied Science; The Tree of Science; History of Technical Science; The Dimension on Natural Objects in Miles; Wave Lengths, Hall of Science, A Century of Progress Exposition, Chicago[39]
1933 Designed ground panels, esplanade, Adler Planetarium, Chicago[40]
TEACHING
1901-1902 Art Institute of Chicago, Saturday juvenile school[41]
1902-1910 Chicago Academy of Fine Arts[42]
1906 Douglas, Michigan (summer)[43]
1907 Privately, Chicago and Lockport, Illinois
1908, 1909 Lockport summer school[44]
1911-1920, 1923[45]-1930 Art Institute of Chicago[46]: 1911-1920 Drawing life; 1911 Summer drawing, painting, illustration; 1911-1913 Illustration; 1913-1920, 1923-1929 Life painting; 1913-1920, 1923-1929 Mural decoration; 1928 Summer advanced life; 1929-1930 Professor of painting & drawing[47]
1914 The New School of Art, Chicago[48]
1921-1925 Saugatuck Summer School of Art, visiting critic[49]
1926-1932 Studio School of Art, Chicago[50]
c.1929 University of Minnesota, summer lectures
RESIDENCES
1876-1921 Lockport
1921-1934 Chicago[51]
TRAVEL
1897-1898 California[52]; Arizona
1898 Florida during Spanish American War, member of the Rough Riders.[53]
1900 Saugatuck, Michigan (summer)[54]
1901-1902 Arizona with Walter Enright
1904 Arizona[55]
1906-1907 Roswell, New Mexico[56]
1908 Yazoo River area, Missouri
1919 Southwestern U. S.
1920-1933 Saugatuck (summers)[57]
1924 Santa Fe, New Mexico[58]
1924 Utah and Grand Canyon[59]
1925 Brittany, Normandy, France[60]
1926 Europe (summer)[61]
1927 (remained in Chicago)[62]
1930 Paris; London; Morocco; Marrakesh[63]
1931 Mexico
1933 Barbados
1933 Studio of architect Thomas Tallmadage, Chicago[64]
1933-1934 Colony Gardens, South Carolina
MEMBERSHIPS/OFFICES
Art Institute of Chicago Alumni Association (president 1924-1925)
Chicago Society of Artists
Cliff Dwellers Club (charter member 1907[65])
Cor Ardens
Lake Zurich Golf Club
Tavern Club, Chicago (founder, president 1932-34)
HONORS
1899 Honorable Mention, Outline Figure, School of the Art Institute of Chicago
1900 Honorable Mentions, Outline Figure, Outline Nude, School of the Art Institute of Chicago
1900-1901 Honorable Mentions, Charcoal Nude, Nude Figure, Pen, oil sketch, head, School of the Art Institute of Chicago
1904 Jury Award, Decorative Calendar Design[66]
1906 Mrs. Thomas White, Mrs. John H. Volk & Mrs. W. B. Frolichstein Portraiture Prize, Art Institute, Chicago & Vicinity[67]
1918 Liberty Loan poster competition award[68]
1924 Honorable Mention, Art Institute of Chicago, American Annual[69]
1924 William M. R. French Gold Medal for a work executed by a student of the Art Institute, Art Institute of Chicago, American Annual[70]
1926 Norman Waite Harris Bronze Medal, Art Institute of Chicago, American Annual[71]
1928 Honorary Master of Fine Arts, Art Institute of Chicago
1931 Gold Medal, Architectural League of New York[72]
1931 Board of Art Advisors, Department of Purchases and Construction, State of Illinois
J
URIES SERVED
Art Institute of Chicago, Alumni Retrospective 1923
Art Institute of Chicago, American Annual 1920
Art Institute of Chicago, American Watercolors 1905, 1909, 1932
Art Institute, Chicago & Vicinity 1922-1925[73]
Art Students’ League 1912, 1916-1918, 1920, 1926-1928
Chicago Friends of Art, first annual at Edgewater Beach Hotel, 1921[74]
Chicago Society of Artists annual 1928
Chicago Tribune mural competition 1922
Illinois Academy of Fine Arts annual 1931[75]
Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts annual 1925
Sesquicentennial Exposition, Philadelphia, Midwestern jury 1926
Swedish-American Artists annual 1929
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
155 Carl Street, Chicago 1927[76]
A Century of Progress Exposition 1933
Art Institute of Chicago, Alumni Association 1918[77]
Art Institute of Chicago, American Annual 1904, 1907, 1908, 1919-1921, 1923, 1924, 1926, 1939
Art Institute of Chicago, American Watercolors 1905, 1906, 1922, 1926
Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago Architectural Club annual 1915[78]
Art Institute of Chicago, One Hundred Years, One Hundred Artists 1979
Art Institute of Chicago, Red Cross Posters By Chicago Artists 1917[79]
Art Institute, Chicago & Vicinity 1905-1908, 1911,[80] 1912, 1920, 1921, 1926, 1927
Art Students’ League of Chicago annual 1902, 1903[81], 1904, 1908
Carnegie Institute International annual 1905
Carson, Pirie, Scott & Co. Gallery, Liberty Loan War Posters 1918
Cliff Dwellers Club, Thumb-Box Sketches in Oils, 1913
Joliet Artists’ League 1917
Milwaukee Art Society, Exhibition of Painting & Sculpture by American Artists 1910
Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, The 1920s: Age of the Metropolis 1991
New Gallery of the Academy of Fine Arts, Chicago, Chicago Artists 1909
Niké Club, Black & White 1901
Society of Art Directors, Chicago 1920
St. Louis Art Museum, American Annual 1926, 1927
ONE, TWO OR THREE MAN EXHIBITIONS
1905 Chicago Academy of Fine Arts[82]
1906 Chicago Academy of Fine Arts[83]
1909 New Gallery of the Academy of Fine Arts[84]
1924 Art Institute of Chicago
1931 Saugatuck Art Gallery with Tom Lea
1934 Art Institute of Chicago[85]
1934 Tavern Club of Chicago[86]
1952 Davenport Municipal Art Gallery
1991-1993 Illinois State Museum-Lockport, Chicago, Springfield
PERMANENT COLLECTIONS
Burlington Northern & Santa Fe Railway collection[87]
Commission For Encouragement of Local Art, On The Pier[88]
University of Chicago Law School, Portrait of Edward W. Hinton[89]
INTERESTING NOTES
He was part of a group called the Beetles which included Albert Krehbiel, B.J.O. Nordfeldt, Harry Osgood and Harry Townsend. They were students at the Art Institute of Chicago who strongly defended Modernism against the critical teaching staff. Norton was an ardent supporter of Modernism. He conflicted with other conservative Art Institute teachers such as John Vanderpoel and Charles Francis Browne in thinking that technical training drained creativity from the young student. Initially his studio was in the Fine Arts Building. During the Spanish-American war he served with Teddy Roosevelt’s Rough Riders.[90]
[1]Most of this timeline can be found in John Warner Norton, (Lockport, Illinois: Illinois State Museum, 1991). A good review of his career may be found in C. J. Bulliet, “Artists of Chicago Past and Present,” Chicago Daily News, 12/21/1935, Art, Antiques and The Artists section, p.4. https://www.illinoisart.org/no-45-john-warner-norton.
[2]Norton knew he was dying. He and his wife drove to the Smoky mountains because he had always wanted to see their beauty and then on to Charleston where he entered a hospital and died. A memorial book about his life was written and announced in Eleanor Jewett, “New Book Will Be Memorial To Chicago Artist,” Chicago Tribune, 9/8/1935, p.F4.
[3]The two met at the Art Institute of Chicago.
[4]Two other men admitted to this honors class were Frederick F. Fursman and Albert H. Krehbiel. All three artists would later become active forces in summer school education at Saugatuck.
[5]“100 to Be Graduated from Institute School,” The Chicago Evening Post Magazine of the Art World, 6/12/1928, p.3.
[6]In May 1906, Walter Enright, married to Frank Lloyd Wright’s sister Maginel, joined his studio mate, Norton, in offering domestic scale mural paintings and began advertising in House Beautiful.
His illustration of Peoria… Saginaw … Chicopee, appeared in the February 1934 issue of Fortune.
[7]Painting The Town: The History of Art in Saugatuck and Douglas, (Douglas, MI: Saugatuck-Douglas Historical Society, 1997), p.54.
[8]The company was owned by Illinois artist Thomas Woods Stevens.
[9]“The December Cover,” Inland Printer, December 1902, p.387.
[10]James W. Pattison, “Pattison’s Art Talk,” Chicago Journal, 3/19/1902, p.4. One of his illustration works may be found in The Sketch Book, Vol. I, No. 2, March 1902, p.16 and a book plate design on p.25.
[11]These were completed on his trip to the Southwest U. S. with his new wife. The painting In Mokiland of the Santa Fe Railroad collection is listed as dated 1903 in the exhibition catalogue John Warner Norton, (Lockport, IL: Illinois State Museum, 1991), which remains unconfirmed.
[12]The Sketch Book, Vol. III, No. 10, June 1904 and Lena M. McCauley, “Art and Artists,” Chicago Evening Post, 5/21/1904, p.9.
[13]Thomas E. Tallmadge, John W. Norton, American Painter 1876-1934, (Chicago: The Lakeside Press, 1935), p.22. See also, Lena M. McCauley, “Art and Artists,” Chicago Evening Post, 4/16/1904, p.9: “John W. Norton of the Academy of Fine Arts has been spending the month of April in Arizona.”
[14]Heather Becker, Art for the People, (San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 2002), p.201. The mural is now destroyed.
[15]Advertisement, House Beautiful, Vol. 19, May 1906, p.8.
[16]The work is illustrated in A Guide to Chicago’s Murals, (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2001), p.21.
[17]Maude I. G. Oliver, “Literature and Art,” Chicago Sunday Herald, 12/20/1914, Sec. 2, p.11.
[18]“J. W. Norton of Chicago Art Institute, Who Has Been Given the Work by South Park Commission, Has Combined in His Pictures Rare Beauty and Story Interest,” Sunday Inter Ocean, 3/22/1914 in AIC Scrapbooks, Vol. 31. Several of the paintings are illustrated in this article. They are discussed at length in Harriet Monroe, “Art and Artists.:The Death of Mr. French,” Chicago Tribune, 6/7/1914, p.G5.
[19]Maude Martin Ellis, “Jerome Blum Paintings at Arts Club: Travels Abroad,” Chicago Tribune, 4/7/1929, p.G4.
[20]Chicago Herald, 4/11/1915 in AIC Scrapbooks, Vol. 33.
[21]“The Mozart Murals,” The Art Student, December 1915, Vol. 1, No. 2, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, p.57-58.
[22]That the works were recently completed was announced in “School,” Bulletin of the Art Institute of Chicago, Vol. 10, No. 2, February 1916, p.146. The work is illustrated in A Guide to Chicago’s Murals, (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2001), pp.164-165.
[23]Images of the work may be found in the Northwest Architectural Archives, University of Minnesota, St. Paul.
[24]“Fourth Liberty Loan Posters,” Bulletin of the Art Institute of Chicago, Vol. 12, No. 6, p.101. His work was accepted by the Department of Pictorial Publicity, Washington, D.C.
[25]“John Norton To Direct Placing Of Art Panels,” Joliet News, 2/28/1918 in AIC Scrapbooks, Vol. 36.
[26]Catalogue of Commercial Art Exhibition, (Chicago: Society of Art Directors, 1920).
[27]These murals were later exhibited at the Art Institute of Chicago and A Century of Progress exposition in Chicago. Eleanor Jewett, “Art And Artists: Primitive Man the Theme of Norton Murals,” Chicago Tribune, 7/20/1924, p.E6. Lena M. McCauley, “Norton’s Murals Trace Man’s Rise from Ape,” The Chicago Evening Post Magazine of the Art World, 1/14/1930, p.3. Upon their dedication a descriptive article appeared in Racine, Wisconsin, “Beloit’s 12 New Mural Paintings,” Racine Journal, 6/30/1925, in the AIC Scrapbooks, Vol. 50, p.16.
[28]“John W. Norton,” in “News of the Art World,” supplement, Chicago Evening Post, 5/20/1924. The work is illustrated in A Guide to Chicago’s Murals, (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2001), p.241. It is discussed and illustrated in Heather Becker, Art for the People, (San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 2002), pp.53, 67, 113, pp.171-173.
[29]“From Saugatuck Faculty,” in “News of the Art World,” supplement, Chicago Evening Post, 8/12/1924, p.9. See also: “Murals by Norton Adorn Apartment,” The Chicago Evening Post Magazine of the Art World, 10/21/1924, p.4.
[30]“John Norton Busy,” The Chicago Evening Post Magazine of the Art World, 6/16/1925, p.4.
[31]The work is illustrated in A Guide to Chicago’s Murals, (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2001), p.34.
[32]“Norton and Lea in 2nd Saugatuck Show,” Chicago Evening Post, 7/21/1931, Art Section, p.7. Sketches from this work were illustrated at the recently opened Saugatuck Art Association gallery. The work is illustrated in A Guide to Chicago’s Murals, (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2001), p.37.
[33]Announcement of the commission was made in Maude Martin Ellis, “Jerome Blum Paintings at Arts Club: Notes of Art and Artists,” Chicago Tribune, 4/7/1929, p.G4. Arne Lee, “The Chicago Daily News Building, Holabird And Root, Architects,” Architectural Forum, Vol. 52, January 1930, pp.29-31. Sketches from this work were illustrated at the Saugatuck Art Association gallery. “Norton and Lea in 2d Saugatuck Show,” Chicago Evening Post, 7/21/1931, Art Section, p.7. Op. cit., Chicago Evening Post, 7/21/1931, Art Section, p.7. The work is illustrated in A Guide to Chicago’s Murals, (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2001), p.361. It is also illustrated in Richard Murray, “Progressive Era Murals in the Chicago Public Schools, 1904 to 1933,” in Art for the People, (San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 2002), p.67.
[34]The mural, thirty-one feet tall, was illustrated in The Chicago Evening Post Magazine of the Art World, 1/6/1931, p.9. The work is illustrated in A Guide to Chicago’s Murals, (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2001), p.45. Eleanor Jewett, “New Panel and Shows at Art Institute,” Chicago Tribune, 1/25/1931, p.I4.
[35]The work is illustrated in A Guide to Chicago’s Murals, (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2001), p.245. The title is taken from this source.
[36]“Norton Murals for Normal College to Be Dedicated May 24,” Chicago Evening Post, 5/17/1932, Art Section, p.5. Eleanor Jewett, “Originality and Independence Mark Exhibition of Students’ Work,” Chicago Tribune, 6/12/1932, part 8, p.3.
[37]“Birmingham Murals,” Art Digest, Vol. 6, 7/1/1932, p.4.
[38]They were about to be conserved in 2019. Emma Nelson, “St. Paul, Ramsey County rethink 1930s murals at City Hall,” Star Tribune (St. Paul), 11/28/2018. Online at http://www.startribune.com/st-paul-ramsey-county-rethink-1930s-murals-at-city-hall/501453802/ accessed 12/3/2018. However, in June/July 2020 they were covered over with new murals due to their controversial nature of what was considered by some to be insensitive depictions of native Americans.
[39]Philip Kinsley, “Fair Gives New Opportunity To The Mural Arts,” Chicago Tribune, 7/9/1933, p.12. His The Tree of Science was illustrated with the article, continued from p.12. Three of the works were given to the Museum of Science and Industry. One poster of a work is illustrated in A Guide to Chicago’s Murals, (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2001), p.363. An interior view of the mural is located in the Ryerson Library archival materials on the fair – item 3.18.
[40]The work is illustrated in A Guide to Chicago’s Murals, (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2001), p.367.
[41]This was in effect a teaching assistantship which was accorded only to the best students.
[42]Letter to Frederick Oswald from William M. R. French, French Letters, Ryerson Library, Art Institute of Chicago, 9/25/1902. French tells Oswald “I think it quite probable we can put you into Norton’s place...” This implies French was expecting Norton to teach at their school and instead he was at the Academy. See also: “Fancy Stock In Art Hall,” Chicago Chronicle, 9/25/1902 wherein the write states Norton will teach drawing and composition. He was teaching illustration for the 1902-1903 term. Lena McCauley, “Art and Artists,” Chicago Evening Post, 8/29/1903, p.8. While friendly with William Penhallow Henderson already, their relationship became much closer when both were teaching at the academy. See also: Lena M. McCauley, “Art and Artists,” Chicago Evening Post, 9/11/1909, p.4.
[43]The Sketch Book, Vol. V, No. 8, June 1906 and Lena M. McCauley, “Art And Artists,” Chicago Evening Post, 6/2/1906, p.4.
[44]Lena M. McCauley, “Art And Artists,” Chicago Evening Post, 7/3/1908, p.4. Chicago Record-Herald, 6/7/1908. Mae J. Evans, “What Chicago Artists Have Accomplished This Summer,” Sunday Inter Ocean, 9/13/1908, Magazine Section, p.2.
[45]He came back to the school after accepting a position vacated by the death of Harry Stickroth, see: “Critic Sees Need of Great Industrial Art School Here,” “Alumni Exhibition,” Chicago Herald-Examiner, 12/10/1922 in AIC Scrapbooks, Vol. 44.
[46]See also: “Norton, an intellectual follower of the cubists,” Norman Rice, “A Recollection,” Over a Century. A History of The School of the Art Institute of Chicago 1866-1981, (Chicago: The School of the Art Institute, 1982), p. 21.
[47]He had resumed teaching in April 1930, after returning from Europe.
[48]This short lived school was founded with the painters Frederick Fursman, also a teacher at the Art Institute of Chicago and Thomas Tallmadge at the Tower Building in Chicago.
[49]Art Institute Alumni,” in “News Of The Art World,” supplement, Chicago Evening Post, 1/10/1922. See also: “John W. Norton,” op. cit., 7/31/1923, p.9, and “From Saugatuck Family,” op. cit., 8/12/1924, p.9.
[50]Advertisement, The Chicago Evening Post Magazine of the Art World, 3/2/1926, col. 1, p.12. “Studio School of Art Takes New Quarters,” The Chicago Evening Post Magazine of the Art World, 9/30/1930, p.2. “Norton at Studio School,” The Chicago Evening Post Magazine of the Art World, 1/13/1931, p.9. “Studio School Is to Open on Sept. 14,” Chicago Evening Post, 9/8/1931, Art Section, p.8.
[51]At this time he and his family moved into the Tree Studio building. Shortly afterward he and artist Thomas Tallmadge were featured by satirist Gene Markey with caricatures entitled: “Mr. Thomas Tallmadge and Mr. John Norton bring Bohemia to the Tree Studios,” in Men About Town: A Book of 58 Caricatures, (Chicago: Covici-McGee Co., 1924), p.55.
[52]He initially traveled west to tutor the son of Norman Ream of Chicago. Tutoring duties fulfilled while in California, he traveled alone to Arizona to continue his own adventure. See: Thomas E. Tallmadge, John W. Norton, American Painter 1876-1934, (Chicago: The Lakeside Press, 1935), p.17.
[53]“The Manuscript on Gray Charcoal Paper,” The Book and Catalogue of the Second Retrospective Exhibition of the Art Institute Alumni Association, (Chicago: Art Institute of Chicago, 1922).
[54]Painting The Town: The History of Art in Saugatuck and Douglas, (Douglas, MI: Saugatuck-Douglas Historical Society, 1997), p.7. In a Chicago Chronicle article of 8/4/1900, AIC Scrapbooks, Vol. 13, col. 3, p.10 it states a party of Art Institute students have been camping for a month, including Norton, but doesn’t say where.
[55]Lena M. McCauley, “Art and Artists,” Chicago Evening Post, 4/16/1904, p.9.
[56]It is unclear if he went back and forth between New Mexico and Chicago. Lena M. McCauley in “Art And Artists,” Chicago Evening Post, 9/15/1906, p.9, states: “John W. Norton has returned from the West and is at his post in the Academy of Fine Arts.”
[57]Starting in 1920 he signed the hotel register for The Summer School of Painting in Saugatuck. It is possible since his name did not appear on the register from 1914-1919 he was not there as some accounts had placed him regularly in Saugatuck as early as 1914. He built his cottage there in 1924 with the help of Thomas Tallmadge. The Norton family still uses the cottage each summer. See: Painting The Town: The History of Art in Saugatuck and Douglas, (Douglas, MI: Saugatuck-Douglas Historical Society, 1997), p.13.
[58]“At the Art Institute,” in “News of the Art World,” supplement, Chicago Evening Post, 6/17/1924.
[59]“Back from Utah,” The Chicago Evening Post Magazine of the Art World, 12/2/1924, p.3. He was accompanied by artist and architect Thomas Tallmadge.
[60]“John W. Norton has a studio in Paris. Saugatuck misses him greatly this summer.” See, “American Art Scarce in Europe’s Shows,” The Chicago Evening Post Magazine of the Art World, 9/1/1925, p.4. Eleanor Jewett, “Art And Artists,” Chicago Tribune, 8/16/1925, p.G7.
[61]“Institute Instructors Scatter for Summer,” The Chicago Evening Post Magazine of the Art World, 7/6/1926, p.4.
[62]It was so hot in town that July he painted a picture with palm trees. The incident is discussed by critic Charles Victor Knox, “So Hot Artist Sees Palm Trees on Drive,” The Chicago Evening Post Magazine of the Art World, 7/19/1927, p.5.
[63]“John W. Norton to Resume Art Classes,” The Chicago Evening Post Magazine of the Art World, 4/1/1930, p.11. He was away from December through March.
[64]C. J. Bulliet, “Around the Picture Galleries,” Chicago Daily News, 12/16/1933, Art and Artists section, p.22.
[65]“Cliff Dwellers In Chicago,” Chicago Tribune, 11/7/1907, p.8.
[66]The award was sponsored by calendar advertisers, for more details see: op. cit., McCauley, Chicago Evening Post, 5/21/1904, p.9.
[67]This prize was given under the auspices of the Municipal Art League for his painting, “Portrait”, illustrated in “Artists Receive Prizes,” Chicago Chronicle, 1/30/1906 in AIC Scrapbooks, Vol. 21, see also Maude I. G. Oliver, “Features Of The Chicago Artist’s Exhibit,” Sunday Inter Ocean, 2/4/1906, Men’s Magazine section, p.5. The work was also illustrated and described as a portrait of Alice Roosevelt in “Winning Pictures at Annual Display of Work of Local Artists,” Chicago Tribune, 1/30/1906, p.5.
[68]“4th Liberty Loan Posters,” in “News Of The Art World,” supplement, Chicago Evening Post, 9/24/1918, p.9.
[69]This was awarded his painting Light and Shadow, by the Art Institute of Chicago alumni association. The painting was then acquired by the Friends of American Art and presented to the Art Institute of Chicago where it is now in storage. Eleanor Jewett, “Prizes Are Awarded in Art Exhibit,” Chicago Tribune, 10/30/1924, p.19, and “Art And Artists,” 11/2/1924, p.F8.
[70]Op. cit., Jewett, Chicago Tribune, 11/2/1924, p.F8. The prize was awarded his Light and Shadow. The work was illustrated in the 11/30/1924 issue, p.I4.
[71]The prize was awarded his Nude. Eleanor Jewett, “Art,” Chicago Tribune, 10/31/1926, p.E8.
[72]The prize was won for murals which were installed at the Tavern Club, Chicago, which is no longer active. Eleanor Jewett, “Arts Club Members’ Work on View,” Chicago Tribune, 4/26/1931, p.H6.
[73]He was selected to serve in 1924 because he had no particular affiliation with any art organizations, see: Lena M. McCauley, “Rigid Jury Methods to Rule Next Show,” in “News of the Art World,” supplement, Chicago Evening Post, 1/8/1924.
[74]Eleanor Jewett, “International Poster Exhibit at Institute,” Chicago Tribune, 5/29/1921, p.F3.
[75]“331 Art Works by Illinois Artists to be Displayed,” Joliet Herald-News, 5/5/1931, in AIC Scrapbooks, Vol. 58.
[76]This small group exhibition included artists Sol Kogen, Edgar Britten, Margaret Oatway and Edgar Miller, and was announced in “Group Exhibit Opens,” The Chicago Evening Post Magazine of the Art World, 12/6/1927, p.6.
[77]His architectural sketch was illustrated in “Alumni Exhibition,” Bulletin of the Art Institute of Chicago, Vol. 12, No. 2, February 1918, p.19.
[78]His work for Midway Garden and Fuller Park was exhibited.
[79]Louise James Bargelt, “Art,” Chicago Tribune, 12/16/1917, p.C8.
[80]His Spring, was illustrated James William Pattison, “Exhibition Of Works By Chicago Artists - Paintings And Sculpture,” Fine Arts Journal, Vol. 25, No. 3, March 1911, p.147.
[81]Chicago Record-Herald 3/1/1903 in AIC Scrapbooks, Vol. 18, p.47. “J. W. Norton’s illustrations are exceptionally strong.”
[82]Lena M. McCauley, “Art and Artists,” Chicago Evening Post, 2/25/1905, p.8. He exhibited with Frank R. Wadsworth and fellow academy teachers Wellington J. Reynolds and William P. Henderson.
[83]Lena M. McCauley, “Art And Artists,” Chicago Evening Post, 5/19/1906, p.12., and 6/2/1906, p.4.
[84]Lena M. McCauley, “Art and Artists,” Chicago Evening Post, 2/6/1909, p.4, 2/20/1909, p.4.
[85] C. J. Bulliet, “Artless Comment: Hail and Farewell John Norton,” Chicago Daily News, 12/22/1934, Art and Artists, p.17. Eleanor Jewett, “Art Institute Opens Special Exhibits Today,” Chicago Tribune, 12/14/1934, p.31.
[86]C. J. Bulliet, “Around the Picture Galleries: Norton’s Work at Tavern,” Chicago Daily News, 4/28/1934, Art Section, p.24.
[87]His painting Hopi Indian Dance, is illustrated in Dean A. Porter, “The Burlington Northern & Santa Fe Railway Collection,” American Art Review, Vol. XVII, No. 1, 2005.
[88]The painting was illustrated in The Chicago Evening Post Magazine of the Art World, 9/22/1925, p.7.
[89]The painting was a gift of alumni and illustrated in The Chicago Evening Post Magazine of the Art World, 7/1/1930, p.4.
[90]Painting The Town: The History of Art in Saugatuck and Douglas, (Douglas, MI: Saugatuck-Douglas Historical Society, 1997), p.54.