Emile Norman

Emile Norman (April 22, 1918 ‒ September 24, 2009), born Emil Nomann, was an American artist, widely known for his sculptures, mosaics, panels, and jewelry He was the subject of the 2006 PBS documentary, Emile Norman: By His Own Design.

Background Born in 1918 in San Gabriel, California,

After beginning his career in California and later moving to New York, he returned to California's Big Sur area in 1946, set up a studio in his home and gained a wider following. producing a documentary on his life. It aired on PBS in 2006.

Norman died September 24, 2009, in Monterey, California at age 91, survived by three sisters, Marilyn Bogart, Mabel Malone and Edna Rhodes (Attorney Marc Del Piero is the trustee of the Emile Norman Charitable Trust).

Norman began his professional career designing window displays for the Bullocks Wilshire department store in Los Angeles. He later moved to New York to design window displays for department stores including Bergdorf Goodman and Bonwit Teller — his work featured in Vogue and other periodicals. In 1946, he designed ornate headgear for performers in the 1946 Hollywood musical Blue Skies. The show received positive reviews and quickly sold out.

His body of work includes sculptures, mosaics, panels, and jewelry — notably the 40-by-46-foot mosaic window for the Nob Hill Masonic Center in San Francisco, depicting the founding of California Freemasonry. The Monterey Herald described the mural as an endomosaic, incorporating thousands of bits of metal, parchment, felt, linen, silk, natural foliage, thinly sliced vegetable matter, shells and sea life, plus 180 colors of stained glass."

Documentary In 2006, PBS aired the documentary, Emile Norman: By His Own Design, covering much of Norman's life. The documentary was produced by Michael Tucker and Jill Eikenberry, actors known for their roles on the NBC television series, L.A. Law. The couple were friends and neighbors of Norman having purchased land from him in Big Sur.