Magnus Norstad was born in Bedo, Norway in 1884 and emigrated to the United States with his family in 1900. Norstad went to New York City in 1905 to study at the National Academy of Design, where he was awarded the Charles Loring Elliot Silver Medal for his art.

Norstad eventually moved to St. Paul, Minnesota and was working for the Pioneer Company as an illustrator. Norstad was very involved in the Twin Cities art world and exhibited paintings at the St. Paul Institute and the State Art Society. His painting, City on a Hill won a Silver Medal in 1917 at the St. Paul Institute and is now hanging in the Minnesota Historical Society.

In 1919, Norstad moved to New York and settled in Valhalla. He worked as a commercial artist in New York City doing magazine illustrations and poster designing. He would enter some paintings into exhibitions, but did very little easel paintings. After World War II, Norstad moved to California and is said to have burned most of his paintings. He passed away in Oak Glen in 1962.