Tom Benton

Page added 1997
Last updated August 2008

Tom Benton was a serigraphic printmaker (many times political), abstract painter and resident of Woody Creek. His work is featured in an exclusive gallery in Aspen. He is best known to readers of gonzo for his Thompson for Sheriff posters (or The Aspen Wallposters) produced for Hunter S. Thompson's campaign in 1970 and an Elect the President poster which appeared in Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72. He passed away April 27, 2007 after being diagnosed with advanced lymphoma.

Unfortunately his wife Marci passed away about months later. She was killed in a car crash just before Christmas, 2007.

The good news is that Tom's work is now being displayed at tomwbenton.com, which has a nice biography as well as an online store. HST for Sheriff posters used to be one of the most asked about items, and some are still available. Naturally Tom did other work besides gonzo fists, and you can check them out there as well as at bentonbook.com.

Some people have wondered what that flower thing is in the middle of the fist. It's a peyote button. As well, the fist also has six fingers, as a symbol of freak power. Interestingly enough, I have a MAD Power paperback with a five or six fingered upraised fist. I haven't seen it in quite a while, it's somewhere around here :-) Pictures used with permission.

Due to so many people linking to these pics and stealing bandwidth, they are now Flash movies. You will need the free Flash player from Macromedia to view them.