Art of the West digital magazine
Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/32473
Wary Utes, oil, 32˝ by 46˝ “On this occasion, the Utes are in enemy ter- ritory and always on the lookout for a sudden attack by the enemy as they are on the move.” Opposite Page The Life Line, oil, 40˝ by 56˝ “The buffalo was the lifeline of the Plains tribes. They stored meat for the winter, used buffalo robes to keep themselves warm, and made lodges from the hides. Without the buffalo, the Plains Indians would have been gatherers. The buffalo sustained their way of life.” Quanah’s Return, oil, 36˝ by 48˝ “Quanah Parker was a son of Cynthia Parker, who was stolen by the Comanches when she was young. She was married to a chief of the Comanche tribe. When Quanah was in his teens, he and six other braves went deep into Mexico, raiding and plundering. Returning two years later, and bringing home more than 200 horses, they were welcomed as heroes. Quanah later became a war chief.” son. The following year, they had their second son, who was born with Down syndrome, which resulted in what Norton describes as “huge medical bills because no insurance company would take us.” Needless to say, the pressure was on to help support his family, even though Pam had returned to work as a teacher. Norton would load his paintings into the car and drive from gallery to gallery, showing his work and hoping to sign on with at least one of them. “I also would take three or four paintings out and tell people how much I wanted for them,” he says. “One day I came home with no money and said, I’m going to have to get a job.’ The next morning, I had a phone call from Jim Sanders in Tucson. He said he had seen my work and was opening a gallery and bought a couple of paintings from me. He said, ‘I think you’re going to be good. Do some paintings, and I’ll buy them.’” It was just the vote of confidence Norton needed, and soon another gallery picked up his work. Things were looking up. Then, in 1989, he got a call from the CAA inviting him to submit some of his paintings and be considered for membership in the group. No one was more surprised than Norton, when he was invited to join—and on his first attempt, no less. The following year, during his first showing with the group, the pressure of exhibiting his work with “the big boys” was more than a little nerve-wracking. “I was sick,” Norton recalls. “I had a headache and was throwing up because of the pressure. You’re standing in there with Ken Riley, Bill Owen, Jim Reynolds, and Howard Terpning. It’ll make you or break you, but I sold out. There has only been one year, maybe two, that I haven’t sold out.” He’s also earned many awards over the years, includ- ing the Stetson Award for best over- all exhibition at last year’s show. Over the years, Norton has con- tinued to study the works of artists he admires—including Tom Lovell and Robert Lougheed—and has visited and studied works in major May/June 2011 • ART of the WEST 39