Norman C. Stone
Norman C. Stone | |
|---|---|
| Born | Template:Birth date Evanston, Illinois, U.S. |
| Died | April 2, 2021 (aged 81) San Francisco, California, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Psychotherapist, philanthropist, wine producer, art collector |
| Known for | Contemporary art collection, Azalea Springs wine production |
Norman C. Stone (April 28, 1939 – April 2, 2021) was a distinguished American psychotherapist, philanthropist, wine producer, and an avid collector of modern and contemporary art.
Biography
Born in Evanston, Illinois, Stone was the son of Chicago entrepreneur and self-help writer W. Clement Stone. He completed his undergraduate studies in economics at Stanford University and later obtained a doctorate in social-clinical psychology from the Wright Institute Graduate School located in Berkeley, California.
In 1980, Stone held a position as a staff psychologist at the Bayview Hunters Point Foundation for Community Improvement in San Francisco, where he provided therapy to individuals struggling with schizophrenia, substance abuse, and depression.
Before pursuing his doctoral training at the Wright Institute, he took painting courses at the San Francisco Art Institute. Under the guidance of Thea Westreich Art Advisory Services based in New York, Stone began assembling a collection of contemporary artworks during the mid-1980s. Together with his wife, Norah Sharpe Stone, he acquired pieces by artists such as Jan de Cock, Robert Gober, Jeff Koons, Cady Noland, Richard Prince, Richard Serra, Keith Tyson, and Christopher Wool. Their holdings also include works by notable figures like Andy Warhol, Marcel Duchamp, Hans Bellmer, and Tony Conrad.
Their art collection is divided between their home in San Francisco and their Napa Valley property known as Stonescape. This estate boasts a 5,750-square-foot subterranean art space designed by Bade Stageberg Cox. Additionally, it features a pool and pavilion conceived by artist James Turrell and realized by Jim Jennings. The surrounding grounds were landscaped by Tom Leader.
Stone was president of the W. Clement and Jessie V. Stone Foundation and served as a trustee for the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Both he and Norah participated as members of the National Committee at the Whitney Museum in New York as well as the Tate International Council in London. Furthermore, Stone co-established the Nueva School located in Hillsborough, California.
Situated within Napa Valley’s Diamond Mountain District AVA, Stonescape has been producing Merlot wines under the Azalea Springs label since the 1990s. Following the replanting of vineyards with high-quality cabernet sauvignon vines in 2002, wine production shifted to the AZS label. Stone was affiliated with Napa Valley Vintners, a non-profit organization representing local vintners.
Stone passed away on April 2, 2021, in San Francisco at the age of 81.