Mabel Norman Cerio

Mabel Norman Cerio was an accomplished artist and philanthropist. In fact, in 1937 she painted a portrait of another woman in this exhibit, Maude Howe Elliot. In 1949, Mabel bequeathed the family’s Paradise Farm in Middletown and the surrounding property to establish the Norman Bird Sanctuary to preserve and protect birds and provide a peaceful place for the public to observe, study, and enjoy them. She did this in memory of her father and brother.