Calling someone an “icon” is often an overused sentiment. However, when it comes to the late multi-hyphenate Lawrence Ferlinghetti (1919-2021), the moniker is appropriate, especially in San Francisco, where he thrived artistically and socially since his arrival in 1951.

With all of his accomplishments, perhaps he is least known as a visual artist. That might change when an exhibition titled “Ferlinghetti for San Francisco” opened at the Legion of Honor on July 19. “This exhibition is so much needed. It’s a little bellwether awakening from the sleep that we are all in,” said Mauro Aprile Zanetti, a writer and filmmaker, who was Ferlinghetti’s assistant and collaborator from 2013 until he passed.