Kennebunkport’s wild child Louis D. Norton, bohemian extraordinaire, lives on thanks to inspired collectors like the late Richard Hennessey.

By Colin W. Sargent & Andrew Yang

The romantic notion of the American impressionist as free spirit was embodied by Louis D. Norton (1868-1940), who is widely collected in the Kennebunks and beyond.

When the British steam vessel Wandby crashed off Walker’s Point in 1921, church bells rang and “Kennebunkport schools closed for the day so kids could watch the Coast Guard efforts to float the Wandby off the rocks,” according to local historian Sharon Cummins. In the crowd was Louis B. Norton, whose work helps us tag along today. 

Norton left his childhood home in Providence to study at the Académie Julian in Paris. Returning to New England, he fell in love with Kennebunkport and settled here in 1906. Quickly, he showed us that low tide is a mark of beauty and a fishing village is the center of the universe. Locals loved his knowing brushstrokes, his lust for beauty and spirits, his penchant for a good horse trade.

See the full story in the digital magazine above.