Obituary: Paul F. Norton, founded Art Department

Paul Foote Norton, 90, of Amherst, professor emeritus of Art and the founder of the Art Department, died Aug. 26 at UMass Memorial Medical Center, following a short period of declining health.

Born in Newton, he grew up in Chicago and Detroit and Kalamazoo, Mich. He attended Oberlin College as an undergraduate, majoring in mathematics and completed his Ph.D. at Princeton University in the area of the history of art and architecture.

He served in the U.S. Navy from 1942-46, when he received an honorable discharge from active duty, and continued to serve in the Naval Reserve.

In 1958, he was hired by the University to form and head a new Art Department. He headed the department for 13 years and when it grew so large that it was separated into the two areas of studio art and art history, he continued on as the head of the art history area for some years. He taught both undergraduate and graduate-level courses.

He wrote a book called “Amherst: A Guide to its Architecture,” concerning the houses of architectural and historical significance and interest in Amherst, and produced many scholarly articles in various publications, including the Stained Glass Quarterly and the Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians. He did a vast amount of work on Benjamin Henry Latrobe and completed a book on Latrobe’s architecture. He also studied and wrote on the architect Samuel McIntire, who designed and built many historical buildings and homes in Salem and elsewhere in New England.

He taught previously at Penn State from 1947-58 and also served as a visiting associate professor at Amherst College in 1959-60.

He retired in 1993 at age 76. Following his retirement, he continued research on stained glass windows, and wrote a book on the stained glass windows in churches in Rhode Island, entitled “Rhode Island Stained Glass: An Historical Guide.”

He was a member of the Society of Architectural Historians, Appalachian Mountain Club, Greensboro, Vt. Historical Commission and the Amherst Historical Commission

He leaves his wife of 65 years, Alison Stuart Norton; and two daughters, Mary Reed Norton of Amherst and Hilary Norton of Harvard, six grandchildren, a brother, and many nieces and nephews. His son, Jody Norton, died in 2001. He also leaves many friends and colleagues, as well as his tennis partners at Hampshire Fitness Club.

There will be a memorial service in Greensboro, Vt. in early August, 2008. Donations may be made to the Greensboro Free Library, Greensboro, Vt., or the Mountain View Country Club, Greensboro, Vt.

September 14, 2007.

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