Simon, Norton

Simon, Norton (Winfred)

(1907–93) businessman, art collector; born in Portland, Ore. He spent much of his early years in San Francisco and attended college for a short time. He invested in the stock market, survived the crash of 1929, invested in the Hunt Foods & Industries Company, and made a fortune. His business success was legendary by the time he began collecting art ranging from old masters, sculpture, tapestries, and furniture. He established several tax-exempt foundations and financed a new art museum in conjunction with the Los Angeles County Museum to house his collection (1965). After his divorce from his first wife, Lucille Ellis Simon, he married the actress, Jennifer Jones (1971). In 1974 he moved his collection to the Pasadena Art Museum, and by 1978 had taken over the museum and changed the name to the Norton Simon Museum.