Deceased September 26, 2020
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In Memory
Norman Gorbaty was an artist, both graphic and fine, an artist of motion who was always in motion, even to his end. Over his life, he created many thousands of works, moving among many media, especially painting, sculpture and printmaking.
Norm prepared for Amherst at Stuyvesant (N.Y.) High School, participated in many activities, joined the Lord Jeff Club, majored in fine arts and won fellowships to study art at Yale. There, he earned a master’s degree, studying with luminaries like Josef Albers and Louis Kahn, writing his thesis on “Printmaking with a Spoon” and winning recognition for his prints in the Brooklyn Museum.
To support a family, Norm worked as a graphic artist for several years with Benton & Bowles Advertising and then in his own studio doing ads (IBM, Crest), magazine covers (Time), and major movie promotions, as well as illustrations for some 85 children’s books (Sesame Street, Step Into Reading).
In his double, and more significant, life, Norm devoted his love to the fine arts, creating thousands of works over 50 years without ever trying to mount a solo show. However, when Norm turned 78, his son and daughter-in-law encouraged and then assisted him in bringing his works public through a variety of shows in the New York area. One curator praised Norm’s work as “rich and deep” and exclaimed that “it dazzles in its unfettered expression and amazes in its remarkable breadth.”
Occasionally academic, Norm taught and lectured at places like Yale and Cooper Union. For Amherst, he donated to the Mead Art Museum many photos and modern paintings he had collected from other artists.
Norman Gorbaty died on Sept. 26, 2020. Preceded in death by his wife, Joy, he left his son, Ben (Shelly), daughter Lisa (William), two granddaughters, one great-granddaughter and brother Leonard.
George Edmonds ’53