Gregor Norman-Wilcox was a curator of decorative arts at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art from 1931 until his retirement shortly before his death in 1969. Norman-Wilcox was born in Cleveland, Ohio on September 9, 1905, the son of Carl Humbphreys and Eunice Wilcox. (The name on his birth certificate was Gregor Norman Humphreys; he later changed his name to Gregor Norman-Wilcox.) After graduating from the Cleveland School of Art, he worked for interior decorators in his hometown before making his way to Los Angleles. There, he joined the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, in 1931, quickly becoming Curator of Decorative Arts.

In 1934, he married Grace A. Steen, a specialist in Oriental art. She wrote articles and taught classes on that subject. After becoming interested in Oriental, particularly Chinese art, she learned enough to become a buying agent for a New York importing firm, and worked in Shanghai in 1925. For a short time, she ran a shop in Cleveland where she sold Oriental imports, but the Great Depression ended her business. After becoming engaged to Gregor, she moved with him to Los Angeles.

Throughout his career, Norman-Wilcox wrote extensively on various aspects of the decorative arts, making many contributions to The Magazine Antiques (they first published one of his articles in 1927 and his last they published in August 1969, several months after his death), as well as other journals, encyclopedias, and books. He wrote a column on antiques for the Los Angeles Times from 1949 to 1959; the column was then nationally syndicated from 1958 to 1969. Norman-Wilcox was also a creative writer and cartoonist in his spare time, as evidenced by the keepsake books which he made for his wife.

In 1957, Norman-Wilcox took a year-long leave of absence from his job in Los Angeles to be in charge of furnishing Tryon Palace in New Bern, North Carolina. He was also responsible for restoring and refurnishing the Hugo Reid Adobe in Los Angeles. He was a member of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, numerous historical societies, collectors clubs, and preservation groups in the United States and England, as well as being an honorary member of the American Institute of Interior Designers.

Gregor Norman-Wilcox died on April 26, 1969, at the age of 63, after having retired the previous September. He and his wife had no children. After his death, his wife established a memorial scholarship fund in his name at Winterthur Museum, which is used to support fellows in the Winterthur Program in Early American Culture. Grace Norman-Wilcox died around 1995.

The collection contains professional correspondence and papers created while Norman-Wilcox was a curator at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. The bulk of the material consists of research notes, correspondence, typed drafts, photographs, and some tear copies of magazine articles on decorative arts topics. The correspondence is arranged by the article, speech, etc., to which it relates. Also included are copies of all of Norman-Wilcox's columns about antiques for the Los Angeles Times. Additional material includes catalogs of private collections, particularly of silver, with appraisals; correspondence, clippings, and photos of an honorary nature; surveys and reports he made as an advisor on silverwork acquisitions for the museum; and finally, installation drawings featuring gallery displays and room settings.

There are files on Oriental art, which were assembled by Grace Steen Norman-Wilcox, and some personal correspondence.

These papers also contain 145 keep-sake books that Norman-Wilcox created for his wife, dating from 1935 to 1944. They were presented to her on birthdays, anniversaries, and other special occasions. The books were typed, illustrated, bound, and numbered by him. As well, there are fifty illustrated poems, written in the 1930s. Some are thank-you notes, one was written to ask his wife out to dinner, and others celebrate events in their lives.

The papers have been divided into four series. Series I includes correspondence, catalogs, and materials for miscellaneous articles, in Boxes 1-8 and 22-23, and copies of Norman-Wilcox�s newspaper articles in Boxes 9-21. Materials removed from a scrapbook are in Box 23. Some of Grace�s papers are mixed into Series I, but mostly they are Gregor�s papers. Series II consists of his keepsake books, in Boxes 23-32, and the keepsake poems in Box 33. Series III includes Grace Norman-Wilcox�s papers on Oriental (mostly Chinese( art. Series IV is one box of files related to Mr. Norman-Wilcox�s work for Tryon Palace.

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Gifts of Mrs. Gregor Norman-Wilcox and Dwight P. Lanmon.

OVERVIEW OF THE COLLECTION Repository code: DeWint File name: col115.xml Abstract: Gregor Norman-Wilcox was a curator of decorative arts at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. The papers reflect some aspects of his professional life, but the bulk of the collection are articles which he wrote for a newspaper column about antiques. As well, there are 145 keepsake books which he made for his wife. Extent: 4 linear feet Date range: Ca.1930-1970 Related materials: Language: English Winterthur Museum, Garden, and Library Joseph Downs Collection of Manuscripts and Printed Ephemera Winterthur, DE 19732 (302) 888-4853 Gregor Norman-Wilcox Papers Col. 115 Creator: Gregor Norman-Wilcox Title: Papers Dates: ca. 1930-1970 Call No.: Col. 115 Acc. No.: 70×29, 78×309, 80×245, 91×101, 94×71 Quantity: 32 boxes Location: 18 J-K