Giclée Print (162 copies)
Size: 20″x27″
Artist: Brian K. Johnson
This portrait of Benjamin Franklin is composed entirely from aphorisms and proverbs drawn from Poor Richard’s Almanack, the colonial-era publication Franklin produced from 1732 to 1758. Using these short, witty maxims—“Early to bed and early to rise…”, “A penny saved is a penny earned”—Brian K. Johnson constructs a visual likeness of Franklin while preserving the textual density of his ideas.
Rendered in monochromatic green, the image resembles the engraving from the $100 bill, yet it resists pure replication. Instead, it invites viewers to explore the character of Franklin not through linework, but through his own distilled wisdom. The words form Franklin’s face, coat, and hair with uncanny precision—creating a portrait built from ideals, not ink.
This piece bridges typography, currency, and cultural memory, reminding us how deeply Franklin’s phrases have become part of American consciousness.