rosaleen norton

‘Lucifer and the Goat Mendes.’ The most notorious witch in Australian history was an artist named Rosaleen Norton (1917-79) who scandalized her ultra-conservative homeland with her outrageous bohemian lifestyle and strange occult beliefs during the 1950s. The press dubbed Norton the “Witch of Kings Cross”—a low-rent artists’ quarter and red light district in Sydney, New South Wales. They claimed she was an evil Satanist who revelled in perverted Black Masses and unnatural orgies with her…

Bacchanal

...was an Australian artist and occultist, witch. “A big furry night-spider of the orb-weaving type soon took to spinning nightly over the open tent door. I became very fond of this being, whom regardless of sex, I named Horatius, because she guarded me from invasion single handed. Most of my family were terrified of her, so I could stay up until morning if I felt like it, secure from interruption so long as she loomed in her great circular web over my doorway.”…

‘Lucifer and the Goat Mendes.’ The most notorious witch in Australian history was an artist named Rosaleen Norton (1917-79) who scandalized her ultra-conservative homeland with her outrageous bohemian lifestyle and strange occult beliefs during the 1950s. The press dubbed Norton the “Witch of Kings Cross”—a low-rent artists’ quarter and red light district in Sydney, New South Wales. They claimed she was an evil Satanist who revelled in perverted Black Masses and unnatural orgies with her…

At Home

Rosaleen Norton, The Vision, c.1970

Filmmaker Sonia Bible considers Rosaleen Norton "the most persecuted artist in Australian history." With a new documentary, she's hoping to set a more accurate record of the life of woman who in the 1940s and 50s scandalized the country with her occult art, and bold sexuality.

Rosaleen Norton

Filmmaker Sonia Bible considers Rosaleen Norton "the most persecuted artist in Australian history." With a new documentary, she's hoping to set a more accurate record of the life of woman who in the 1940s and 50s scandalized the country with her occult art, and bold sexuality.

Born in the early hours of a thunderstorm, with pointed ears and ‘witches’ marks’ on her skin, little Rosaleen was destined for a life of the occult. From her earliest childhood, …

iseesigils: Rosaleen Norton