Robert Richard Hieronimus (born 1943) is an educator, artist, author, activist and has been an acknowledged pioneer in the "New Paradigm" movement since 1971.
Early years and education
Hieronimus received a B.S. degree in teaching from Towson State Teacher's College (now Towson University) and he taught art for two years to grade school children.
Art and esoterica
In the late 1960s Hieronimus traveled with Elektra Records and recording artists such as Jimi Hendrix, the Doors, and Janis Joplin to design posters and album covers and share info on esoterica. In 1969 he co-founded AUM, the first state-approved school of esoteric studies in the country which granted certificates in the occult sciences, mystic arts and religious metaphysics. PBS documented his leadership and contributions in 1971 with the feature, "The Artist of Savitria" produced by Maryland Public Television and seen nationwide. He continued his study of ancient cultures and symbolism independently, with a particular emphasis on the founding of America. In 1981, Hieronimus was awarded a Ph.D. from Saybrook Graduate School for his doctoral thesis, "An Historic Analysis of the Reverse of the American Great Seal and Its Relationship to the Ideology of Humanistic Psychology."
Murals
Hieronimus has a long career as a muralist and painter. His occult and symbolic murals include the prophetic Apocalypse completed during 1968–1969 at the Johns Hopkins University, which led to Hieronimus being called "one of this country's best muralists". The Historic Views of Baltimore 1752–1858 mural was completed in 1976 and is housed in the War Memorial Building Baltimore, Maryland. Art historian and critic Alan Barnet noted, "Hieronimus has a talent for winning the cooperation of the establishment while he lives and works in the counter-culture."
The Great Seal of America and U.S. symbolism
Hieronimus's research on the Great Seal has been used in the speeches, literature, and libraries of the White House (1976, 1982), the State Department (1978), and the Department of Interior (1982). His Independence Hall speech on the Great Seal's bicentennial was published in the Congressional Record (1983, 1984), and his research was shared in a personal meeting with the late Egyptian President Anwar El-Sadat. Together with his wife, Zohara Meyerhoff Hieronimus, Robert Hieronimus lobbied the House and Senate on the Great Seal Act (1982–1986). Inner Traditions published a popular version of Hieronimus's doctoral thesis in 1989, entitled America's Secret Destiny: Spiritual Vision and the Founding of a Nation. This book was revised and expanded in 2006 under the title Founding Fathers, Secret Societies: Freemasons, Illuminati, Rosicrucians and the Decoding of the Great Seal. As a result of this book, Hieronimus was featured on documentaries on the National Geographic, Discovery and History Channels. Founding Fathers, Secret Societies has been translated into German, French, Russian, and Spanish.
In 2008, New Page Books released his book, United Symbolism of America: Deciphering Hidden Meanings in America's Most Familiar Art, Architecture and Logos, an account of how the Statue of Liberty, the Liberty Bell, the flag, the eagle, the Great Seal, and Washington, D.C., became American icons. Each is examined from a humanistic psychological point of view with interpretations from world cultures, religions, secret societies, archetypes and popular usage. Hieronimus takes a position contrary to growing anti-American sentiment. This book was turned into a 2-hour special on the Discovery Channel called Secret America, a special on the History Channel called Secrets of the Founding Fathers, and was featured in a segment on Canada's Vision TV called "Occult Architecture: Washington DC."
The Woodstock bus
Hieronimus's most famous artcar, the Volkswagen bus "Light" (better known as "the Woodstock bus"), was photographed by the Associated Press and Rolling Stone at the original 1969 Woodstock, and is still seen today regularly reprinted in media all over the world. A diecast model of Hieronimus’s painted Woodstock bus was produced by Sunstar Diecast in 2009 in recognition of Woodstock's 40th anniversary.