John Carlin, a poet and painter of miniatures* on ivory*, was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, June 15, 1813. A deaf-mute, and one of sixteen original students, he graduated in 1825 from the Pennsylvania Institute for the Deaf and Dumb. In 1833-1834, in Philadelphia, he studied portraiture and drawing. In 1838 he went to London, studying the past tradition of art in the National Museum. He later went to Paris, studying with Paul Delaroche, before returning to the United States in 1841, living in New York City and practicing the profession of miniaturist. When the advent of photography made miniature painting obsolete, Carlin switched to landscapes and genre scenes.

He became a member of the Artists' ...