Morris Broderson

Morris Broderson was born on November 4, 1928 in Los Angeles, California. Deaf at birth, he attended Berkeley School for the Deaf (CSD) where he began dabbling in art. An aunt noticed his unusual artistic abilities and gave him support. Broderson won a scholarship to the Pasadena Art Museum, a stint that led to his education at the University of Southern California where he focused strictly on drawing – no colors or other media were allowed until he had mastered drawing.

Throughout his twenties, Broderson supported himself as a janitor at local racetracks and as a photographer’s assistant until his first solo show in Laguna Beach. Broderson’s work ranges from oils, watercolors and pastels to lithographs. Well known for incorporating embroideries, Asian motifs, porcelain, lace and floral designs into his artwork, Broderson also works on several paintings at the same time.

A few of his paintings depict his deafness through fingerspelling. Broderson’s paintings can be seen at the Smithsonian, National Museum of American Art, Museum of Fine Arts in Boston and San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, to name a few.