ARENA :: Visual Arts

Design, Post-Production & Remix

The slideshow gallery below presents a chronological series of artworks and designs that make use of previously existing photographs or artistic depictions of Emperor Norton. The gallery is part of the Visual Arts section of The Emperor Norton Trust’s ARENA: ARchive of Emperor Norton in Art, Music & Film.

Hover on any image to see a full description, including (where available) the artist, title, year, copyright and source information. (To see these captions on a mobile device, you may need to turn the device to a horizontal view and tap the image.)

Click on the portion of the image above the caption to enlarge, zoom and/or to see the full work.

Scroll below the following gallery for links to additional galleries in the Visual Arts section of the Archive.

This curation seeks to be comprehensive but not exhaustive.

Emperor Norton, frontispiece in Albert Dressler’s 1927 book, Emperor Norton: Life and Experiences of a Notable Character in San Francisco, 1849–1880. Colorized version of the Bradley & Rulofson studio’s 1864 photograph of the Emperor here. See the image in its original book context here. Source: Kolbe & Fanning [Added 6.15.2021]

Emperor Norton "Live Like Him" Discordian poster (1970), by Greg Hill (1941–2000) a.k.a. Malaclypse the Younger. Uses original Emperor Norton artwork from 1970 Wells Fargo ad created by the firm of McCann-Erickson (here). Source: Fédération internationale des centres d’études et de documentation libertaires. (For further validation of the date, click here to see the poster printed in the 15 February 1971 issue of The Rag, an underground paper published in Austin, Texas, from 1966 to 1977.) [Added 7.14.2016]

Emperor Norton poster (2006), by Joe Angiulo. This piece uses a detail from the c.1878 photograph here. (For more on the photo, see the description in our gallery here.) On view at Emperor Norton's Boozeland, San Francisco. © 2006 Joe Angiulo. Source: Joe Angiulo. [Added 8.11.2017]

Collage, c.2014, by Deborah Hayner (b. 1952) for Norton Dollars project of Richard Petersen. This artwork, used for a prototype Norton Dollars card, is a detail from one of Hayner's earlier concepts, which envisioned Norton Dollars as paper bills. The piece uses a detail from the late 1870s photograph here. (For more on the photo, see the description in our gallery here.)© Deborah Hayner. Source: Norton Dollars [Added 8.11.2017]

Photo illustration, 2015, by Keith Tamkei. This piece is based on the c.1871–72 photograph here. (For more on the photo, see the description in our gallery here.) The illustration appeared on the cover of the 8 March 2015 issue of the Lifestyle Magazine of the Sunday Times of South Africa. The cover story, by Hagen Engler, was "How Africa Gave America Its Emperor." © 2015 Times Media Group [Added 8.11.2017]

Photo illustration of Emperor Norton, 2015, by The Wall Street Journal. This illustration (which is based on the photograph here) appeared with an article that ran in the paper's 12 August 2015 print edition under the headline "In San Francisco, Subjects Still Long for Ersatz Emperor of Yore." (To view the print article, click here.) © 2015 Dow Jones & Co. [Added 8.11.2017]

Photo illustration, 2016, by Jordan Brighton. This piece is based on the c.1871–72 photograph here. (For more on the photo, see the description in our gallery here.) © 2016 Jordan Brighton [Added 8.11.2017]

"Build Bridges Not Walls" pin, February 2017, by Aaron Almanza. This pin features a colorized detail of an illustration of Emperor Norton, viewable here, that originally accompanied a front-page profile of the Emperor that appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle on 9 November 1879. © 2017 Aaron Almanza. Photo: John Lumea [Added 8.18.2017]

Poster for the Independent Venue Alliance, 2020, by Terrance Ryan a.k.a. Lil Tuffy (b. 1972). Uses original Emperor Norton artwork from 1970 Wells Fargo ad created by the firm of McCann-Erickson (here). Source: Independent Venue Alliance. [Added 12.11.2020]

Photo illustration of Emperor Norton, 2022, by XxY Studio. Front cover art for Italian-language biography, L'imperatore d’America. Storia favolosa del vagabondo che si fece re (UTET, 2022), by Errico Buonanno (Amazon Italy). Art based on c.1875 photograph by Bradley & Rulofson studio. Artist's website. [Added 6.14.2022]

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