Albert Newsam (May 20, 1809 – November 20, 1864) was an American artist. Born

deaf Deafness has varying definitions in cultural and medical contexts. In medical contexts, the meaning of deafness is hearing loss that precludes a person from understanding spoken language, an Audiology, audiological condition. In this context it ...

and based in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

, Pennsylvania, he created paintings and drawings, including portraits.

Early life

Albert Newsam was born in

Steubenville, Ohio Steubenville is a city in and the county seat of Jefferson County, Ohio, United States. Located along the Ohio River 33 miles west of Pittsburgh, it had a population of 18,161 at the 2020 census. The city's name is derived from Fort Steuben, a 1 ...

United States. He was born

and was

orphan An orphan (from the el, ορφανός, orphanós) is a child whose parents have died. In common usage, only a child who has lost both parents due to death is called an orphan. When referring to animals, only the mother's condition is usuall ...

ed. He was a creative child, and at age eleven he was taken to

, Pennsylvania, by a William P. Davis who pretended to be deaf, and made money off of Newsam's talents. In 1820, Newsam was placed in the

Pennsylvania School for the Deaf The Pennsylvania School for the Deaf is the third-oldest school of its kind in the United States. Its founder, David G. Seixas (1788–1864), was a Philadelphia crockery maker-dealer who became concerned with the plight of impoverished deaf childr ...

, where he attended school.

Mid-life and career

He started an

engraving Engraving is the practice of incising a design onto a hard, usually flat surface by cutting grooves into it with a Burin (engraving), burin. The result may be a decorated object in itself, as when silver, gold, steel, or Glass engraving, glass ...

apprenticeship in 1827. He worked for Cephas G. Childs. Newsam trained under

George Catlin George Catlin (July 26, 1796 – December 23, 1872) was an American adventurer, lawyer, painter, author, and traveler, who specialized in portraits of Native Americans in the United States, Native Americans in the Old West. Traveling to the We ...

, and other engravers. Newsam's work was published by Childs starting in 1829. After working for Childs, he became principal artist for Peter S. Duval. Newsam specialized in portraits, which he painted and also etched on

stone In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its Chemical compound, chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks ...

to make

lithograph Lithography () is a planographic method of printing originally based on the immiscibility of oil and water. The printing is from a stone (lithographic limestone) or a metal plate with a smooth surface. It was invented in 1796 by the German a ...

s. He also worked off of the work of photographers and artists, such as Henry Inman and

Gilbert Stuart Gilbert Charles Stuart ( Stewart; December 3, 1755 – July 9, 1828) was an American painter from Rhode Island Colony who is widely considered one of America's foremost portraitists. His best-known work is an unfinished portrait of George Washi ...

, among others. Newsam created portraits of politicians, religious figures, and wealthy people. He also created landscapes, medical illustrations, and

sheet music Sheet music is a handwritten or printed form of musical notation that uses List of musical symbols, musical symbols to indicate the pitches, rhythms, or chord (music), chords of a song or instrumental Musical composition, musical piece. Like ...

Later life, death, and legacy

His eyesight started to decline in 1857. In 1859, Newsam experienced a stroke. This affected his ability to work, and ended his career. He lived at the Living Home for the Sick and Well in

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...

until his death. His stay at the home was financially sponsored by his friends. He was interred at

Laurel Hill Cemetery Laurel Hill Cemetery is a historic rural cemetery in the East Falls neighborhood of Philadelphia. Founded in 1836, it was the second major rural cemetery in the United States after Mount Auburn Cemetery in Boston, Massachusetts. The cemetery is ...

in Philadelphia. William James Campbell collected some of his lithographs. A collection of his prints is held by the

Historical Society of Pennsylvania The Historical Society of Pennsylvania is a long-established research facility, based in Philadelphia. It is a repository for millions of historic items ranging across rare books, scholarly monographs, family chronicles, maps, press reports and v ...

Notable collections

*''Albert Newsam (self-portrait)'', unknown,

Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA) is a museum and private art school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.The Library Company of Philadelphia The Library Company of Philadelphia (LCP) is a non-profit organization based in Philadelphia. Founded in 1731 by Benjamin Franklin as a library, the Library Company of Philadelphia has accumulated one of the most significant collections of hist ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Newsam, Albert 1809 births 1864 deaths Artists from Philadelphia Burials at Laurel Hill Cemetery (Philadelphia) Deaf artists People from Steubenville, Ohio American deaf people

Early life

Mid-life and career

Later life, death, and legacy

Notable collections

Further reading

References