Henry Viscardi’s Early Life, A Visual Narrative

Artist-in-Residence at Lenox Hill Neighborhood House, a historic social and cultural institution) NYC. I began this narrative work while leading art workshops at Lenox Hill Neighborhood House Women’s Mental Health Shelter and the Older Adult Center.

Summer 2024

Henry Viscardi’s Early Life, A Visual Narrative, Panel 8

At my residency, I worked on a visual narrative chronicling the early life of my father, Dr. Henry Viscardi, Jr. (1912-2004) a world-renowned champion of Disability Rights, and I lead art workshops with the residents of the Women’s Mental Health Shelter and the Older Adult Center. 

My drawings and paintings are based on Dr. Henry Viscardi, Jr.’s 1952 autobiography, A Man's Stature. Born in NYC with severely deformed stumps for legs, his first memories are the charity hospital he called “home” where he lived for years while undergoing many surgeries. He triumphed over the hardships of his physical disability, tenement life and severe prejudice, finally receiving his prosthetic legs at age 27. In 1952, Henry gave up a burgeoning career in the business world to become the founder and president of Abilities, Inc. a company staffed largely by the disabled, spearheading the Disability Rights movement.