:New England limner John Brewster Jr is about to get his proper
due as the Fenimore Art Museum will be showcasing the works of
this prolific folk portrait painter, considered by many to be the
greatest of his time, through December 31. The exhibition, titled
"A Deaf Artist in Early America: The Worlds of John Brewster Jr,"
highlights the accomplishments of this gifted artist, one who
faced extraordinary challenges to ply his craft.
The focus of the exhibition is the "four worlds" in which
Brewster's life revolved: his Puritan family, the prominent
Federalists whose portraits he painted, the rapidly evolving
American art scene and the dawn of American deaf culture.
According to Fenimore curator Paul D'Ambrosio, this recognition
is long overdue. "There really hasn't been anything done on
Brewster since Nina Fletcher Little did her exhibition for the
Connecticut Historical Society in 1960. So 45 years for so
interesting an individual and so accomplished an artist just
seems like more than enough time," he said.
A direct descendent of Elder William Brewster, who brought the
Pilgrims to Plymouth Rock, John Brewster Jr (1766-1854) was born
into a distinguished family. His father was a doctor, as was his
brother, Royal. As Harlan Lane, Matthews Distinguished Professor
at Northeastern University and author of the Brewster biography A
Deaf Artist in Early America (Beacon Press 2004), which became a
catalyst for this exhibition, explains, "In some ways he was like
the other itinerant painters of his day, but in important ways he
was not. He didn't really need the money and consequently he was
prepared to spend much more time doing something really depictive
of the sitter's personality and circumstances. Whereas most of
the itinerant limners, as they are called, couldn't make a living
if they did that, they had to move quickly."
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