Artist. Born deaf, he was one of eight children of Dr. John Brewster and Mary Durkee Brewster of Hampton, Connecticut. He was apparently taught at an early age to communicate through signs and symbols. He received instruction in painting from the Reverend Joseph Steward and in the 1790s, Brewster traveled through the American Northeast in search of portrait commissions, and worked successfully as an itinerant portrait painter. Advertisements placed by him in contemporary newspapers set his fees at fifteen dollars for standard portraits and five dollars for miniatures. His style of romanticized folk portraiture became a dominant style in rural New England. At the age of 51, Brewster learned the newly introduced Old French Sign Language, from which ASL would be derived. Brewster died in Buxton, Maine at age eighty-eight leaving behind a legacy of more than 200 extant paintings. (bio by: Iola)  Family links:  Parents:  John Brewster (1739 – 1823)  Sibling:  John Brewster (1766 – 1854)  Royall Brewster (1770 – 1835)* *Calculated relationship