Sassona Norton

Sassona Norton
Norton in 2016
Born	(1942-02-26) February 26, 1942 Israel
Nationality	American
Alma mater	Tel Aviv University
Occupation	artist
Spouse(s)	Reed Whittle (? - 2008; his death)
Partner(s)	Ron Filler
Website	sassonanorton-sculpture.net

Sassona Norton, PPRBS (born 26 February 1942) is an Israeli-born American sculptor.^[1]

Early life

Norton was born and raised in Israel. She graduated from Tel Aviv University with a degree in Literature and Theatre. She went on to teach high school, work as a theatre director, and write for Yediot Achronot, an Israeli daily newspaper. She started her visual arts career as a painter, making her debut in her first solo-show at Gallery 220 in Tel Aviv when she was in her twenties. Norton immigrated to the United States in 1974 and joined the Art Students League of New York, where she was awarded the Isabel Bishop Merit Scholarship.^[2]

Career

Norton began to achieve artistic success in the early 1980s, first with the publication of her work A Yellow Night, in Twentieth Century Masters of Erotic Art by Crown Publishers, alongside works by Picasso, Rodin, Calder, and Dali. In 1981, she was chosen for Eight Young New Yorkers on the Horizon. In 1983, her large-scale painting The Rain Prayer was published in the Discover Art series by Laura H. Chapman. In 1984, her paintings drew the attention of Peter Fingesten while on display at Sutton Gallery.

In 1999 Norton shifted from painting to sculpting after working in architectural and design installation projects. She was awarded the Huntington Merit Medal for her sculpture The Edge of Rest at the National Arts Club in New York in 2002. In 2003 she sculpted the largest September 11th Memorial in Pennsylvania, costing $200,000.^[3] The memorial, close to twenty-feet tall was installed in Norristown in 2005.^[4] Norton's sculptures were shown at the Morris Museum in New Jersey for over six months; later images of her works were published in a book Sassona Norton Sculpture by the museum.^[5] Her work has also been featured at the International Art Fair in Stockholm.^[6]

Norton designed a bronze sculpture, An Hour Before Dawn, for the entrance to Workhouse Arts Center in Lorton, Virginia, on the property of the former Lorton Reformatory. The statue honors the suffragists imprisoned at Lorton who were tortured during the Night of Terror.^[7][8]

In 2012 Norton was commissioned to make a statues in Monaco and in Sweden honoring Arne Ljungqvist for his work with the World Anti-Doping Agency.^[9]

In 2018 Norton became a Trustee of the Morris Museum.^[10]

Norton is a member of the Royal British Society of Sculptors,^[11] National Sculpture Society, International Sculpture Center, and Washington Sculptors Group. She serves on the board of Sculptors' Guild.

Personal life

Norton was married to Dr. Reed Whittle, a psychotherapist and international management consultant to leaders of Fortune 500 companies, until he died on August 12, 2008 from complications related to Sweet's syndrome.^[12][13] Norton is the stepmother of Whittle's two children, Scott and Amy, from his first marriage to Carolyn Lansden.^[14] Norton is in a relationship with Dr. Ron Filler, the founder of Drug Development Consultants.^[15][16] She owns an estate in Bedminster, New Jersey^[17][18] and also an apartment on the Upper East Side of Manhattan.

Philanthropy

Norton and Filler are patrons of the National Museum of Women in the Arts, the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, American Ballet Theatre, the Newark Museum, and The Discovery Orchestra.^{[19][20][21][22][23]}

Norton is a registered Democrat and has contributed financially to Coalition for Progress and Hillary For America. In 2016 she donated over $12,700 to the Democratic Party.^[24]

References