Algot Anderson
Pioneer and Artist
Algot Anderson was a talented artist and a passionate supporter of the American School for the Deaf. Anderson was born on October 20, 1897 in Meriden. At the age of three, he and his siblings contracted Scarlet Fever and all returned to full health. Shortly thereafter, due to his weakened state, Anderson caught spinal meningitis which caused him to go deaf.
In 1904, he attended the American School for the Deaf and graduated in 1917. He loved to play football, basketball, and ice hockey. In 1916 he became the first deaf person in Connecticut to receive a driver’s license. He later worked as a boys’ supervisor at ASD from 1919-1920. Although he passed the entrance exams for Gallaudet University, he did not get one of the limited spaces at the college.
After leaving ASD he put his artistic talents to use and worked at the Hendel Company, decorating glass and parchment lampshades, and the Rockwell Silver Company, decorating china with precious metals. Emboldened by his success, he founded his own company making lamps and lampshades in 1926. His business quickly expanded and he employed nine people, one of which was his future wife, Jeannette Lanoue. Sadly the onset of the Great Depression forced them to close and Anderson supported his family using his carpentry skills building houses.
Continuing his passion for the arts, he turned to decorating china and other glassware in 1939. By the 1960s Anderson was well known for his work and when the Gallaudet College Alumni Association asked him to create wares to sell for the Centennial Fund. He happily produced many pieces for the Deaf Community. They featured famous historical figures such as Alice Cogswell and Reverend Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet. He continued to sell his wares at ASD and abroad until his death on October 3, 1970.Credits and Sources:
Photos courtesy of:
ASD and RIT; ASD Keenan; ASD Keenan; ASD Keenan.
