John Carter (mouth artist)
Encyclopedia
John Carter was an English
silk
weaver
and artist, who, after an accident left him paralysed
from below the neck, learnt to draw, paint and write by holding the pencil, pen or brush in his mouth. His outstanding ability drew much public interest, with accounts of his life and favourable reviews of his work appearing in the press
both at home, the United States
and elsewhere.
, in the county of Essex
, on 31 July 1815. He attended the local Infant's school
in Church Street in the town, followed by the Parish National School, then, at the age of 13, the local endowed school (founded by Sir Robert Hitcham in 1636), where he remained for 2 years. Although he had no obvious great talent as a boy, he admitted that "Whenever I had a pen or pencil in my hand, I was sure to be drawing in my books or on my slate
, and at home about the walls of the house"; however this propensity was not developed any further and an artistic career was not considered.
On leaving school, Carter was apprenticed to a silk-weaver named Charles Beckwith, and, after his marriage to Lucy (d. Nov. 1841) in 1835, pursued the business on his own account. However, he fell into bad company and spent much of his time drinking in the local Public House
. One Saturday night, in May 1836, after a drinking session with friends, he was persuaded to climb a tree in search of bird's eggs, in the course of which he missed his hold, falling 40 feet to the ground and severely damaging his cervical vertebrae
. He was lucky to survive, but was left effectively paralysed from below the neck, though with some movement in the chest and left shoulder.
Articles about his injuries appeared in The Lancet
on 19th July 1856 and 27 October 1860, some years after his death. His case was described by Doctors as "the most remarkable....with which we are acquainted" due to his having lived for another 14 years after the accident. A post-mortem revealed that paralysis had been caused by compression of the spinal cord due to displacement of the vertebrae; the fact that the cord had not been severed allowed the continued functioning of the autonomic system
which accounts for his survival.
Carter was now totally dependent on others for care and obviously unable to work. The shock also inclined him to seek solace in religion and prayer
, which he had previously forsaken. After 6 weeks of recovery, he moved, with his wife, for reasons of economy and practicality, back to his father's house, where he was attended by friends and family. About a year after the accident, he read an account of how Elizabeth Kinning, an inmate of a Liverpool
asylum, having lost the use of her limbs, learnt to draw using her mouth. He began to do the same thing, using either a slate or a piece of paper pinned to his pillow, and a pencil or very-fine brush held in his mouth.
By dogged perseverance, he taught himself to draw and paint, and to such a great proficiency that belied his disability. He devoted himself mainly to line-drawing
, and, with the help of an attendant to supply his materials, and a specially adapted desk, produced work of great beauty and thorough artistic finish in every detail. He was also able to write legibly using the same method.
Carter became something of a celebrity, and received personal visits from many eminent people, including leading members of the medical profession, the Church, and artists such as George Richmond
. His life and work was still the subject of many articles in journals several decades after his death, in Britain, the United States and elsewhere.
On 21 May 1850, he was involved in an accident, when the small carriage in which he was travelling overturned; his system received so severe a shock that he never recovered, and died on the 4th June that same year. His dying words, which reflected his new-found faith after the accident of 1836, were carefully recorded:
, Rembrandt, Vandyke, and Landseer
. They resemble fine line-engravings
and as George Richmond, who knew Carter well, commented to the author of the book, the power of imitation is most extraordinary.
Of his original works, his best, and most widely acclaimed is "A Ratcatcher and his Dogs" (1849), which drew uniform praise in all its reviews, and a copy of which was acquired by Queen Victoria; The great artist, Landseer described the work as the finest specimen of animal drawing he had ever seen. Other works of importance include "Our Father who art in Heaven", and "Innocence" (the latter based on a work by Hermann Winterhalter
).
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
silk
Silk
Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The best-known type of silk is obtained from the cocoons of the larvae of the mulberry silkworm Bombyx mori reared in captivity...
weaver
Weaving
Weaving is a method of fabric production in which two distinct sets of yarns or threads are interlaced at right angles to form a fabric or cloth. The other methods are knitting, lace making and felting. The longitudinal threads are called the warp and the lateral threads are the weft or filling...
and artist, who, after an accident left him paralysed
Quadriplegia
Tetraplegia, also known as quadriplegia, is paralysis caused by illness or injury to a human that results in the partial or total loss of use of all their limbs and torso; paraplegia is similar but does not affect the arms...
from below the neck, learnt to draw, paint and write by holding the pencil, pen or brush in his mouth. His outstanding ability drew much public interest, with accounts of his life and favourable reviews of his work appearing in the press
News media
The news media are those elements of the mass media that focus on delivering news to the general public or a target public.These include print media , broadcast news , and more recently the Internet .-Etymology:A medium is a carrier of something...
both at home, the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and elsewhere.
Life
Carter, a silk-weaver by trade, was born of humble parents at CoggeshallCoggeshall
Coggeshall is a small market town of 3,919 residents in Essex, England, situated between Colchester and Braintree on the Roman road of Stane Street , and intersected by the River Blackwater. It is known for its almost 300 listed buildings and formerly extensive antique trade...
, in the county of Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
, on 31 July 1815. He attended the local Infant's school
Infant school
An Infant school is a term used primarily in the United Kingdom for school for children between the ages of four and seven years. It is usually a small school serving a particular locality....
in Church Street in the town, followed by the Parish National School, then, at the age of 13, the local endowed school (founded by Sir Robert Hitcham in 1636), where he remained for 2 years. Although he had no obvious great talent as a boy, he admitted that "Whenever I had a pen or pencil in my hand, I was sure to be drawing in my books or on my slate
Slate (writing)
A writing slate is a piece of flat material used as a medium for writing.In the 19th century, writing slates were made of slate, which is more durable than paper and was cheap at the time when paper was expensive. It was used to allow children to practice writing...
, and at home about the walls of the house"; however this propensity was not developed any further and an artistic career was not considered.
On leaving school, Carter was apprenticed to a silk-weaver named Charles Beckwith, and, after his marriage to Lucy (d. Nov. 1841) in 1835, pursued the business on his own account. However, he fell into bad company and spent much of his time drinking in the local Public House
Public house
A public house, informally known as a pub, is a drinking establishment fundamental to the culture of Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. There are approximately 53,500 public houses in the United Kingdom. This number has been declining every year, so that nearly half of the smaller...
. One Saturday night, in May 1836, after a drinking session with friends, he was persuaded to climb a tree in search of bird's eggs, in the course of which he missed his hold, falling 40 feet to the ground and severely damaging his cervical vertebrae
Cervical vertebrae
In vertebrates, cervical vertebrae are those vertebrae immediately inferior to the skull.Thoracic vertebrae in all mammalian species are defined as those vertebrae that also carry a pair of ribs, and lie caudal to the cervical vertebrae. Further caudally follow the lumbar vertebrae, which also...
. He was lucky to survive, but was left effectively paralysed from below the neck, though with some movement in the chest and left shoulder.
Articles about his injuries appeared in The Lancet
The Lancet
The Lancet is a weekly peer-reviewed general medical journal. It is one of the world's best known, oldest, and most respected general medical journals...
on 19th July 1856 and 27 October 1860, some years after his death. His case was described by Doctors as "the most remarkable....with which we are acquainted" due to his having lived for another 14 years after the accident. A post-mortem revealed that paralysis had been caused by compression of the spinal cord due to displacement of the vertebrae; the fact that the cord had not been severed allowed the continued functioning of the autonomic system
Autonomic nervous system
The autonomic nervous system is the part of the peripheral nervous system that acts as a control system functioning largely below the level of consciousness, and controls visceral functions. The ANS affects heart rate, digestion, respiration rate, salivation, perspiration, diameter of the pupils,...
which accounts for his survival.
Carter was now totally dependent on others for care and obviously unable to work. The shock also inclined him to seek solace in religion and prayer
Prayer
Prayer is a form of religious practice that seeks to activate a volitional rapport to a deity through deliberate practice. Prayer may be either individual or communal and take place in public or in private. It may involve the use of words or song. When language is used, prayer may take the form of...
, which he had previously forsaken. After 6 weeks of recovery, he moved, with his wife, for reasons of economy and practicality, back to his father's house, where he was attended by friends and family. About a year after the accident, he read an account of how Elizabeth Kinning, an inmate of a Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
asylum, having lost the use of her limbs, learnt to draw using her mouth. He began to do the same thing, using either a slate or a piece of paper pinned to his pillow, and a pencil or very-fine brush held in his mouth.
By dogged perseverance, he taught himself to draw and paint, and to such a great proficiency that belied his disability. He devoted himself mainly to line-drawing
Line art
Line art is any image that consists of distinct straight and curved lines placed against a background, without gradations in shade or hue to represent two-dimensional or three-dimensional objects...
, and, with the help of an attendant to supply his materials, and a specially adapted desk, produced work of great beauty and thorough artistic finish in every detail. He was also able to write legibly using the same method.
Carter became something of a celebrity, and received personal visits from many eminent people, including leading members of the medical profession, the Church, and artists such as George Richmond
George Richmond
For the 21st century educator see George H. RichmondGeorge Richmond was an English painter.George Richmond was the father of the painter William Blake Richmond as well as the grandfather of the naval historian, Admiral Sir Herbert Richmond.A keen follower of cricket, Richmond was noted in one...
. His life and work was still the subject of many articles in journals several decades after his death, in Britain, the United States and elsewhere.
On 21 May 1850, he was involved in an accident, when the small carriage in which he was travelling overturned; his system received so severe a shock that he never recovered, and died on the 4th June that same year. His dying words, which reflected his new-found faith after the accident of 1836, were carefully recorded:
"O Lord, have mercy on me ! Help me through this misery, and lead me in the way everlasting. Help me through the valley of death, and pardon and forgive all my sins; and receive me into thy heavenly kingdom, O Lord, I beseech thee, for Jesus Christ's sake. Amen. O Lord Jesus, make haste to help me."
Works
The Rev. W. J. Dampier, vicar of Coggeshall, published a memoir in 1850 (reissued in 1875). A list of eighty-seven of Carter's drawings is given, with the names of the owners at the time. They include drawings after Albert Durer, RaphaelRaphael
Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino , better known simply as Raphael, was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. His work is admired for its clarity of form and ease of composition and for its visual achievement of the Neoplatonic ideal of human grandeur...
, Rembrandt, Vandyke, and Landseer
Edwin Henry Landseer
Sir Edwin Henry Landseer, RA was an English painter, well known for his paintings of animals—particularly horses, dogs and stags...
. They resemble fine line-engravings
Line engraving
Line engraving is a term for engraved images printed on paper to be used as prints or illustrations. The term is now much less used and when is, it is mainly in connection with 18th or 19th century commercial illustrations for magazines and books, or reproductions of paintings.Steel engraving is...
and as George Richmond, who knew Carter well, commented to the author of the book, the power of imitation is most extraordinary.
Of his original works, his best, and most widely acclaimed is "A Ratcatcher and his Dogs" (1849), which drew uniform praise in all its reviews, and a copy of which was acquired by Queen Victoria; The great artist, Landseer described the work as the finest specimen of animal drawing he had ever seen. Other works of importance include "Our Father who art in Heaven", and "Innocence" (the latter based on a work by Hermann Winterhalter
Hermann Winterhalter
Hermann Fidel Winterhalter was a German painter, younger brother of the portrait painter Franz Xaver Winterhalter .- Life :...
).
See also
- QuadriplegiaQuadriplegiaTetraplegia, also known as quadriplegia, is paralysis caused by illness or injury to a human that results in the partial or total loss of use of all their limbs and torso; paraplegia is similar but does not affect the arms...
- Sarah BiffenSarah BiffenSarah Biffen , also known as Biffin or Beffin, was a Victorian English painter born with no arms. She was 94 cms tall.-Life and work:...
(1784–1850), mouth artist, born without arms. - Bartram Hiles (1872-1927), a mouth artist who lost both arms in an accident.
- Christy BrownChristy BrownChristy Brown was an Irish author, painter and poet who had cerebral palsy. He is most famous for his autobiography My Left Foot, which was later made into an Academy Award-winning film of the same name....
- Association of Mouth and Foot Painting Artists of the WorldAssociation of Mouth and Foot Painting Artists of the WorldThe Association of Mouth and Foot Painting Artists of the World was founded as the Vereinigung der Mund- und Fussmalenden Künstler in aller Welt, e. V. , in Liechtenstein in 1956...
Further reading
- Mills, Frederick James. The life of John Carter (New York, Hurd and Houghton, 1868).
- Beaumont, George Frederick. A history of Coggeshall, in Essex: with an account of its church, abbey, manors, ancient houses, &c., and biographical sketches of its most distinguished men and ancient families, including the family of Coggeshall from 1149, to the re-union at Rhode Island, U.S.A., in 1884 (London: Marshall, 1890).
External links
- John Carter (Coggleshall Museum - "Local Heroes")