A Deaf Artist in Early America: The Worlds of John Brewster Jr. - Hardcover

Lane is the first to really delve into the truth of what life might have been like for John Brewster Jr., a deaf artist in the boomtown environment of Federal Period Maine and northern New England. This groundbreaking book will lead to a new understanding not only of John Brewster Jr. but of the roles of artist and patron in early America. -Tom Hardiman, executive director, Portsmouth, Athenaeum (NH)

"This riveting account of John Brewster Jr. will be invaluable not only in Deaf Studies and art history, but also in early American history and the social history of American institutions." -Carol Padden, coauthor of Deaf in America: Voices from a Culture

"The paintings of John Brewster Jr. have long been held in esteem by those interested in early American art, not only for their stark clarity but also for their penetrating characterizations. Students and lovers of American art could read this book for its straightforward history alone, but Lane does much more by providing broad historical context to Brewster's life and art. For the first time, the loose ends of the artist's remarkable life have been synthesized in this accessible book." -David Wheatcroft, eminent dealer in American folk art

"Brewster overcomes his physical limitations only to emerge as a giant on the American art scene centuries later . . . Professor Lane brilliantly captures how Brewster achieved this and why he is deserving of our attention today." -Jay S. Williamson, curator, Historical Society of Old Newbury, Massachusetts

The extraordinary and untold story of John Brewster Jr., a preeminent Deaf American artist

Until his death 150 years ago, John Brewster Jr. was one of the most prominent portrait painters in America. Born deaf in 1766, his hauntingly beautiful portraits have a directness and intensity of vision that were rarely equaled. Harlan Lane’s groundbreaking biography includes little-known and invaluable information on the early French roots of the American Deaf-World, the first school for the Deaf in Hartford, Connecticut, the integrated Deaf community of Martha’s Vineyard, and Contemporary Deaf art.

Superbly illustrated with twenty-four pages of color images, A Deaf Artist in Early America provides a rare glimpse of Brewster and his art; it also contextualizes the distinctive culture, language, social institutions, and legacy of the Deaf in America.

“This riveting account of John Brewster Jr. will be invaluable not only in Deaf studies and art history, but also in early American history and the social history of American institutions.” —Carol Padden, coauthor of Deaf in America: Voices from a Culture