John Warner Norton (7 March 1876 – 7 January 1934) was an American painter andmuralist who pioneered the field in the United States.
Norton was born inLockport, Illinois, the son of John Lyman Norton and Ada Clara Gooding Norton. The family ran the Norton & Co. of Lockport. Norton's study of law atHarvard University was broken off when the family's firm went bankrupt. Before, and after a period of living as a cowboy and enlisting with theRough Riders, he studied art at theArt Institute of Chicago (1897, 1899–1901); he would later teach there. His students includedFrances Badger.[1] He was influenced by theArmory Show and the Japanese printmakerKatsushika Hokusai.
Among his works are the landmark 1929 180-foot (55 m) long ceiling mural for the concourse of the oldChicago Daily News Building (mural not currently installed in this building, which has been renamed Riverside Plaza; designed by architectsHolabird & Root, 1929); theCeres mural in theChicago Board of Trade Building (Holabird & Root, 1930); two large murals, "Old South" and "New South" commissioned by Holabird & Root for theJefferson County Courthouse inBirmingham, Alabama; his Tavern Club murals at the333 North Michigan Ave. building, Chicago (Holabird & Root, 1928); hisAmerican Heritage Series at the Hamilton Park Field House, 513 W. 72nd St., Chicago; four murals at theSt. Paul, Minnesota city hall; twelve murals comprisingThe History of Mankind (1923) at theLogan Museum of Anthropology atBeloit College, inWisconsin; and his first major mural in Chicago'sCliff Dwellers Club (1909), where he was a founding member.
At the time of his death on January 7, 1934, inCharleston, South Carolina of cancer,[2] he was a popular and respected artist.
He was survived by his wife and his three children, a son and two daughters.
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