John Carlin was born
deaf or lost his hearing in early childhood. He also wrote other poems and various articles, for example about architecture. He was the first deaf poet in his country to have his works published. His book for kids
The Scratchiest Family came out in 1868. After miniature painting was
dethroned by the emergence of portrait photography, Carlin gave up this previously lucrative line of business and concentrated on larger-format works. Some of his paintings from this phase were later exhibited in the International Exhibition of Fine and Applied Arts by Deaf Artists at the
Nicholas Roerich Museum in New York City. Carlin's paintings were exhibited at the
Detroit Institute of Arts. Portrait of
Laurent Clerc by Carlin is in the collection of
Gallaudet University and an oil painting depicting Clerc hangs in the
Kentucky School for the Deaf. The Los Angeles County Museum of Art as well as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Detroit Institute of Arts and the New York Historical Society also have paintings by Carlin. In addition to his artistic interests, Carlin was also invested in social causes, especially those concerning deaf people. He raised money to build St. Ann Church for the Deaf in New York and the Gallaudet Home for Aged and Infirm Deaf. He also founded the Manhattan Literary Association of Deaf Mutes. At the opening of
Gallaudet University in 1864, which he helped establish, he was one of the opening speakers; later he received the first
MA honoris causa of the college. In 1881 he was a speaker at the first meeting of the Pennsylvania Society for the Advancement of the Deaf. Although Carlin could not
read lips or speak oral language, he was a staunch believer that those skills should be taught to the deaf. According to Christopher Krentz, she was also deaf. The marriage resulted in five hearing children, one of whom, Frances Seward Carlin (1851-1925), also became a painter most known for her floral
still lifes, but also studies of French peasants and their homes. == References ==