Mary Win Norris to receive Lifetime Achievement Award

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Mary Win Norris of Princeton will receive the Prairie Arts Council’s inaugural Lifetime Achievement in the Arts Award for her outstanding contribution to the arts at the council’s annual gala on Friday evening. (BCR photo/Donna Barker)

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PRINCETON — For 90 years or so, the life of Mary Win Norris has been captured and illustrated through her art.

On Friday, Norris will be honored by the Prairie Arts Council with its first ever Lifetime Achievement in the Arts award. Through the years, the Princeton artist has created hundreds of pieces of art in a variety of mediums, including watercolor and oil paintings, bronze and clay statues, murals and afghan designs. She’s also illustrated numerous children’s books as well as textbooks written by Priscilla McQueen for the Open Court Publishing Co.

Though Norris turned 95 in August, she still has not put away her paint brushes, sketching pens and pencils. She’s currently working on a sketch of a local historic bridge that could be used for a tile.

Born and raised in Princeton, Norris said she can hardly remember a time when she wasn’t drawing. Her mother, also an artist, would sit Norris, then about 5 years old, at a little table and show her how to draw. Her mother loved and encouraged her creativity and artistic nature, Norris said.

After graduating from Princeton High School, Norris attended the University of Illinois where she got a degree in art. She also studied for a year at the Art Students League of New York and later earned a master's degree in art from Northern Illinois University. She’s also traveled to various countries in Europe and South America studying art and bringing back sketches and photographs.

Norris began her formal teaching career at an Amish school in Arthur and also taught at a girls' boarding school in Omaha, Neb., before moving back to Princeton, where she taught at Logan Junior High and later at Princeton High School, from which she retired in the 1970s.

Norris remembered how the PHS students would walk the short distance from school to her home for their art class. Her art studio was set up with desks for 12 students at a time. She worked from home, so she could be near her young daughter, Sarah.

Today, her art studio, which overlooks the backyard, is filled with the samples and tools of her artwork. Lining the window sills are bronze and clay statues. The easel is nearby. Next to a drawing table is a big container crammed with brushes and pencils. Paintings and pictures on the walls and tables tell a story and represent a time in Norris’ life.

When asked about her numerous paintings and art pieces, Norris said her favorite portraits are those of her greatest accomplishment, her daughter Sarah Walter Madl.

For her mother to be honored Friday by the Prairie Arts Council with a Lifetime Achievement award is a great and well-deserved honor, Madl said Friday.

In addition to all the artwork she has created through the years, her mother has also been an active member of the community, often donating artwork to community groups for their fundraisers. She’s been a member of various organizations, such as the Bureau County Historical Museum, and was instrumental in the formation of the Prairie Arts Council.

On Monday, Prairie Arts Council board member Linda Gustafson agreed Norris is well-deserving of the council's Lifetime Achievement Award.

“Mary Win Norris has been a tremendous advocate for the arts and has supported the arts through her own art work and her art teaching,” Gustafson said. “She has been very influential in raising the awareness and appreciation of the arts in our community. Her life has been dedicated to the arts and the community has greatly benefited from her considerable achievements.”

Norris will be presented with her award during the Prairie Arts Council 15th annual gala, set to begin at 7 p.m. Friday at the Wine Cellar in Princeton.

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