black & white charcoal on toned paper 11x14 inches 2023 Born in Paris, Jean Bonnet moved to San Francisco with their family as part of a French theatrical troupe. By age fifteen, he got in trouble for fighting and petty thievery, and was placed in the Industrial School, San Francisco’s first reform school. As an adult, Bonnet was arrested dozens of times for wearing male clothing and frequently mentioned in the press for it. According to the papers, he “cursed the day she was born a female instead of a male.” He was also quoted for saying, “The police might arrest me as often as they wish—I will never discard male attire as long as I live.” Bonnet spent much of his time on Kearny Street and made a fairly good living by catching frogs and selling them to French restaurants in downtown San Francisco. Starting in 1875, he visited brothels and convinced the women to leave prostitution to form an all-female gang which supported themselves by shoplifting. One of these gang members, newly arrived from Paris herself, was Blanche Buneau or Beunon. To keep Blanche safe from her ex-lover, Bonnet and Blanche moved to McNamara’s Hotel in San Miguel, just outside of San Francisco. But on the evening of September 14, 1876, Bonnet was lying in bed waiting for Blanche when a shotgun blast through the window killed him. Though unproven, it was believed that Blanche was the intended target. Only my best-selling art is on here. Find more art and merchandise at arienreed.com