Robert Goodnough (American, 1917-2010) "Horse and Rider"

Provenance Note: Frederic P. "Nick" Norton (1935-2025) was a respected Western New York attorney, civic leader, and devoted arts patron whose lifelong commitment to culture enriched the Buffalo region. A Dartmouth College graduate (Class of 1957) and Yale Law School alumnus, Norton practiced law locally for five decades at Norton, Radin, Hoover, Freedman, serving corporations, municipalities, and families. He was deeply engaged in civic and cultural life, holding leadership and board roles with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra and the Albright-Knox Art Gallery, among others. Since 1961, Norton served Rotary in numerous leadership roles including president, board member, and district governor, and is a Paul Harris Fellow with four sapphires, a benefactor, and a recipient of the Rotary Foundation’s Citation for Meritorious Service.
A dedicated arts patron inspired by his father, he began collecting in 1956 with his passions supported and complimented by his wife, Alexandra Barnes "Alex" Norton, through the years. A passionate and disciplined collector for more than fifty years, Norton assembled an extensive collection of prints, drawings, paintings, and sculpture. His connoisseurship was guided by intellectual curiosity and a commitment to supporting artists and institutions. Between 1998 and 2000, he gifted more than 500 prints to the Albright-Knox Art Gallery, underscoring his belief in public access to art. They dedicated the F. Paul Norton and Frederic P. Norton Family Prints and Drawings Study Center in 1999. Works remaining from the Norton estate reflect decades of informed acquisition and cultural stewardship, offering collectors a view into a thoughtful engagement with modern and contemporary art.

Robert Goodnough (American, 1917-2010)
Robert Arthur Goodnough was an American painter associated with the second generation of Abstract Expressionism, best known for his calligraphic mark-making and stylistically varied, hard-to-categorize work. Born in Cortland, New York, he graduated from Syracuse University and initially worked in a representational mode before serving in World War II and studying with Amedee Ozenfant and Hans Hofmann. He later earned an MA from New York University and became part of the New York art milieu that included Willem de Kooning and Helen Frankenthaler. Goodnough’s practice ranged from lyrical, gestural abstractions of the 1950s to more tightly composed works influenced by collage, reflecting his belief in balancing freedom and discipline in painting. In addition to painting, he wrote for Art News and taught at institutions including Syracuse and Cornell. His work was exhibited widely in the United States and abroad and is held in major collections such as The Museum of Modern Art, the Art Institute of Chicago, and the Smithsonian American Art Museum.