Norman Carton

Fontamara

ca. 1956

Norman Carton was an American artist and educator known for Abstract Expressionist works in oil on canvas. While this was his most recognized style and medium, Carton was primarily a colorist and also worked as a muralist, classically trained portrait and landscape artist, sculptor, theater set and fabric designer, and illustrator as well as in a variety of abstractions. He has a large museum collection and commercial history, showing in more than 20 solo and 135 group exhibitions." He was awarded numerous awards, prizes and fellowships for painting. In the 1930s he was part of the WPA creating murals. In the 1940s, he founded a fabric design and production firm which was featured in Interiors magazine, Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, and Women's Wear Daily. These were hand-printed fabrics and his clients were Nina Ricci, Hattie Carnegie, Lord & Taylor, and others. In 1962 Norman Carton opened his own Dewey Gallery in NYC. Carton's works continue to be included in present day exhibitions including at Quogue Gallery entitled 1950s and 1960s Works on Paper,, at the Nassau County Museum of Art entitled Blue in 2020 as well as Energy: The Power of Art in 2019, and at the Anita Shapolsky Gallery in 2019 entitled Inspiration & Exploration. Norman Carton's 2020 solo exhibition at Quogue Gallery was reviewed by Charles A Riley. A representational portion of Carton's papers which include correspondence, writings, notes, exhibition catalogs and sketchbooks were donated to the Smithsonian Archives of American Art where they remain.