Gwain Noot Sexton

Gwain Noot Sexton (née Gwain Harriette Noot; 1909–2007) was a Canadian-born American children's book author, illustrator, visual artist, and fashion designer. She lived in Los Angeles County for most of her life.

Early life Gwain Harriette Noot was born on June 11, 1909, in British Columbia, Canada. She was raised in Vancouver, British Columbia, and attended the Model School in Vancouver.

She studied at the Art Students League of Los Angeles, where she met Fred Sexton. The couple married in June 1932, and briefly relocated to France after the marriage. Together they had one daughter. During her time at the Art Students League of Los Angeles, she also met painter James M. Redmond, who painted her portrait in oils.

Career and late life Her husband Fred Sexton was a witness in the 1949 incest trial of his friend Dr. George Hill Hodel, who was charged by LAPD with multiple counts of sexual abuse with his minor daughter, Tamar. Sexton later admitted his own involvement in the Hodel abuse case, and he took a plea agreement in exchange for his testimony against Dr. Hodel.

Sexton published her first children's book, Maxmilian the Unmerry; There Once Was a King (1959, Charles Scribner's Sons), which she both wrote and illustrated. The story is written in rhyme and is about a unpredictable king named Maxmilian, a wishing stone, and a mouse. Her book was reviewed by The New York Times, Fred divorced her sometimes in the mid-1960s, and remarried Italian-born artist Gemma Taccogna. Sexton continued her apparel business under the name Gwain Sexton after their divorce, and into the 1970s; and she highlighted the apparel label with Castillo's designs featuring Mexican lace and ruffles. She died on February 5, 2007, in Redondo Beach, California.

Publications