John Warner Norton (7 March 1876 – 7 January 1934) was an American painter and

mural A mural is any piece of graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage. Word mural in art The word ''mural'' is a Spani ...

ist who pioneered the field in the United States. Norton was born in

Lockport, Illinois Lockport is a city in Will County, Illinois, United States, located 30 miles southwest of Chicago. Per the 2020 census, the population was 26,094. The city was incorporated in 1853. It is situated along the Illinois and Michigan (I&M) Canal, an ...

, the son of John Lyman Norton and Ada Clara Gooding Norton. The family ran the Norton & Co. of Lockport. Norton's study of law at

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

was broken off when the family's firm went bankrupt. Before, and after a period of living as a cowboy and enlisting with the

Rough Riders The Rough Riders was a nickname given to the 1st United States Volunteer Cavalry, one of three such regiments raised in 1898 for the Spanish–American War and the only one to see combat. The United States Army was small, understaffed, and diso ...

, he studied art at the

Art Institute of Chicago The Art Institute of Chicago in Chicago's Grant Park, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the world. Recognized for its curatorial efforts and popularity among visitors, the museum hosts approximately 1.5 mill ...

(1897, 1899–1901); he would later teach there. His students included Frances Badger. He was influenced by the

Armory Show The 1913 Armory Show, also known as the International Exhibition of Modern Art, was a show organized by the Association of American Painters and Sculptors in 1913. It was the first large exhibition of modern art in America, as well as one of ...

and the Japanese printmaker

Katsushika Hokusai , known simply as Hokusai, was a Japanese ukiyo-e artist of the Edo period, active as a painter and printmaker. He is best known for the woodblock print series '' Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji'', which includes the iconic print ''The Great W ...

. Among his works are the landmark 1929 long ceiling mural for the concourse of the old

Chicago Daily News Building The Riverside Plaza is considered one of Chicago's finest Art Deco buildings. It was originally known as the Chicago Daily News Building. At the time of its completion in 1929, the '' Daily News'' was one of the dominant newspapers in Chicago. Th ...

(mural not currently installed in this building, which has been renamed Riverside Plaza; designed by architects

Holabird & Root The architectural firm now known as Holabird & Root was founded in Chicago in 1880. Over the years, the firm has changed its name several times and adapted to the architectural style then current — from Chicago School to Art Deco to Modern ...

, 1929); the ''Ceres'' mural in the

Chicago Board of Trade Building The Chicago Board of Trade Building is a 44-story, Art Deco skyscraper located in the Chicago Loop, standing at the foot of the LaSalle Street canyon. Built in 1930 for the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), it has served as the primary trading ve ...

(Holabird & Root, 1930); two large murals, "Old South" and "New South" commissioned by Holabird & Root for the Jefferson County Courthouse in

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Birmingham is the seat of Jefferson County, Alabama's most populous county. As of the 2021 census estimates, Birmingham had a population of 197,575, down 1% fr ...

; his Tavern Club murals at the

333 North Michigan 333 North Michigan is a skyscraper in the art deco style located in the Loop community area of Chicago, Illinois in the United States. Architecturally, it is noted for its dramatic upper-level setbacks that were inspired by the 1923 skyscrape ...

Ave. building, Chicago (Holabird & Root, 1928); his ''American Heritage Series'' at the Hamilton Park Field House, 513 W. 72nd St., Chicago; four murals at the

St. Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (abbreviated St. Paul) is the capital of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County. Situated on high bluffs overlooking a bend in the Mississippi River, Saint Paul is a regional business hub and the center o ...

city hall; twelve murals comprising ''The History of Mankind'' (1923) at the

Logan Museum of Anthropology Logan Museum of Anthropology is a museum of Beloit College, located in Beloit, Wisconsin, United States. It was founded in 1894 by Beloit trustee and patron of the arts Frank Granger Logan and contains about 300,000 archaeological and ethnological ...

Beloit College Beloit College is a private liberal arts college in Beloit, Wisconsin. Founded in 1846, when Wisconsin was still a territory, it is the state's oldest continuously operated college. It is a member of the Associated Colleges of the Midwest and has ...

, in

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

; and his first major mural in Chicago's

Cliff Dwellers Club The Cliff Dwellers Club is a private civic arts organization in Chicago, Illinois. The Club was founded in 1907 by Chicago author Hamlin Garland as "The Attic Club", On January 18, 1909, the name was formally changed to The Cliff Dwellers. In 1908 ...

(1909), where he was a founding member. At the time of his death on January 7, 1934, in

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina, the county seat of Charleston County, and the principal city in the Charleston–North Charleston metropolitan area. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint o ...

of cancer, he was a popular and respected artist. He was survived by his wife and his three children, a son and two daughters. File:Ceres mural, John W. Norton, 1930 Chicago Board of Trade Building.jpeg, ''Ceres'' (1930) File:Keep these off the U.S.A. - Buy more Liberty Bonds - John Norton. LCCN2002722447.jpg, "Keep these off the U.S.A", World War I

Liberty Bonds A liberty bond (or liberty loan) was a war bond that was sold in the United States to support the Allied cause in World War I. Subscribing to the bonds became a symbol of patriotic duty in the United States and introduced the idea of financi ...

poster File:John W. Norton, The Inland Printer December 1902 cover.jpg, December 1902 cover of ''

The Inland Printer ''The Inland Printer'' was an American trade magazine about printing and graphic design. It was founded in 1883 and, after several name changes, stopped publishing in 2011. ''The Inland Printer'' was first published in Chicago, Illinois, in 188 ...

'' magazine

Honors

* William M. R. French memorial Gold Medal (1924) * Norman Waite Harris Bronze Medal (1926) * honorary Master of Fine Arts from the

* Gold Medal of Honor for Mural Painting from the

Architectural League of New York The Architectural League of New York is a non-profit organization "for creative and intellectual work in architecture, urbanism, and related disciplines". The league dates from 1881, when Cass Gilbert organized meetings at the Salmagundi Club for ...

(1931), for his paintings in the Tavern Club in Chicago.

References

* * Gray, Mary Lackritz (2001) ''A Guide to Chicago's Murals''. University Of Chicago Press. * Tallmadge, Thomas and Tom Lea (1935) ''John W. Norton, American Painter''. Lakeside Press: Chicago (privately printed). * ''John Warner Norton'' (catalogue raisonné). Illinois State Museum.

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Norton, John W. 1876 births 1934 deaths People from Lockport, Illinois 19th-century American painters 19th-century American male artists American male painters 20th-century American painters Harvard Law School alumni School of the Art Institute of Chicago alumni American muralists Painters from Illinois Deaths from cancer in South Carolina 20th-century American male artists