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Sarah Biffen

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Sarah Biffen
Sarah Biffen's self-portrait, 1830
Born1784 (1784)
East Quantoxhead, Somerset, England
Died (aged 66)
Liverpool, England
Resting placeSt James Cemetery, Liverpool
Other namesSarah Biffin; Sarah Beffin; Mrs E. M. Wright
Known forPainting
StyleMouth and foot painting
SpouseWilliam Stephen Wright (m. 1824)
Patron(s)George Douglas, the Earl of Morton

Sarah Biffen (1784 – 2 October 1850), also known as Sarah Biffin, Sarah Beffin,[1] or by her married name Mrs E. M. Wright,[2] was an English painter born with no arms and only vestigial legs. She was born in 1784 in Somerset.[3] Despite her disability she learned to read and write, and to paint using her mouth. She was apprenticed to a man named Emmanuel Dukes, who exhibited her as an attraction throughout England.[4] In the St. Bartholomew's Fair of 1808, she came to the attention of George Douglas, the Earl of Morton, who went on to sponsor her to receive lessons from a Royal Academy of Arts painter, William Craig.[5] The Society of Arts awarded her a medal in 1821 for a historical miniature and the Royal Academy accepted her paintings. The Royal Family commissioned her to paint miniature portraits of them. When the Earl of Morton died in 1827, Biffen was left without a noble sponsor and she ran into financial trouble. Queen Victoria awarded her a Civil List pension and she retired to a private life in Liverpool. She died on 2 October 1850 at the age of 66.

Early life

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Sarah Biffen was born on 25 October 1784 in East Quantoxhead, Somerset to her father Henry Biffen, a shoemaker, and his wife Sarah. She was born with no arms and undeveloped legs – a result of the congenital condition phocomelia,[6] and would grow to a height of 37 inches. Biffen lived with her parents and four siblings in a farmworker's cottage, just outside East Quantoxhead.[7] She learned to read and, despite her disability, later was able to write using her mouth.[8]

When she was around the age of 13, her family apprenticed her to a man named Emmanuel Dukes, who exhibited her in fairs and sideshows throughout England.[9] Dukes marketed her as "The Eighth Wonder", who was skilled at writing and sewing with her mouth.[7] At some point during the time, she learnt to paint holding the paint-brush in her mouth.[10] During this period, she held exhibitions, sold her paintings and autographs, and took admission fees to let others see her sew, paint and draw.[11] She drew landscapes or painted portrait miniatures on ivory with contemporaries praising her skill. Her miniatures were sold for three guineas each,[a] however, Biffen may have received as little as £5 a year while she was with Dukes.[1][b]

Sponsorship and patronage

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A portrait by Sarah Biffen
A portrait by Sarah Biffen

In the St. Bartholomew's Fair of 1808, George Douglas, the Earl of Morton wanted to see if Biffen could really paint unaided. Once he was convinced, he sponsored her to receive lessons from a Royal Academy of Arts painter, William Craig.[9] The Society of Arts awarded her a medal in 1821 for a historical miniature and the Royal Academy accepted her paintings. The Royal Family commissioned her to paint miniature portraits of them, as a result of which she became very popular. She set up a studio in Bond Street, London. Charles Dickens mentioned her in Nicholas Nickleby, Martin Chuzzlewit, and Little Dorrit, and in "A Plated Article", when describing pottery figures spoiled in the firing process.[7]

The Earl of Morton died in 1827. Without the support of a noble sponsor, Biffen ran into financial trouble when her manager used most of her money.[13] Queen Victoria awarded her a Civil List pension and she retired to a private life in Liverpool.[9] On 6 September 1824, she married William Stephen Wright[14] and later tried to renew her success with the name Mrs. Wright. The attempt was not successful but her supporters, including Richard Rathbone, arranged a public subscription to finance her for her final years.[1]

Death

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Sarah Biffen died on 2 October 1850 at the age of 66.[1] She is buried in St James Cemetery in Liverpool.[15]

Legacy

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A self-portrait engraved by RW Sievier and published in London in June 1821 was sold at Sotheby’s in 1986 and again at Sotheby’s on 5 December 2019.[8] The sale was of the collection of the late Dr Erika Pohl-Ströher. The auction estimate was £800–1200 but the final sale price was £137,500.[16]

The first exhibition of Biffin’s work for 100 years Without Hands: the Art of Sarah Biffin, was held at the galleries of Philip Mould & Company, London in 2022.[17]

In February 2024, BBC news reported that the Museum of Somerset in Taunton, which holds a large collection of Sarah Biffin's work, had acquired a self-portrait by the artist. A watercolour by Biffin dated circa 1812 is located in the Welcome Collection in Euston Station in London. Additional works can be found at the National Portrait Gallery, London.[18]

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ About £320 today.
  2. ^ About £510 today, indexed to prices rather than earnings.[12]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Stephen, Leslie, ed. (1886). "Biffin, Sarah". Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 5. London: Smith, Elder & Co. p. 19.
  2. ^ "Sarah Biffin, Mrs E.M. Wright, 1784–1850. Artist (Self-portrait)". www.nationalgalleries.org. The National Galleries of Scotland. Retrieved 28 November 2017.
  3. ^ "Sarah Biffin". South West Heritage Trust. Retrieved 7 June 2024.
  4. ^ "Sarah Biffin: the celebrated nineteenth-century artist born without arms or legs | Art UK". artuk.org. Retrieved 7 June 2024.
  5. ^ "Museum of Somerset buys self-portrait by Victorian artist Sarah Biffin". 18 February 2024. Retrieved 7 June 2024.
  6. ^ Alberge, Dalya (22 May 2022). "'The lady without legs or arms': how an artist shattered Victorian ideas about disability". The Observer.
  7. ^ a b c "Biffin [Beffin; married name Wright], Sarah (1784–1850)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/2368. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  8. ^ a b "Who was Sarah Biffin?". Philip Mould & Company. 12 December 2019. Retrieved 1 October 2020.
  9. ^ a b c "Sarah Biffen (1784–1850)". Journey into art. 7 June 2012. Retrieved 17 March 2013.
  10. ^ Chester, Laura (16 December 2019). "Biffin's powerful story recognised with £110,000 self-portrait". Antique Trades Gazette. Retrieved 1 October 2020.
  11. ^ Creathorne, Ellen (1876). English Female Artists. Vol. 1. Tinsley Brothers. pp. 395–7.
  12. ^ UK Retail Price Index inflation figures are based on data from Clark, Gregory (2017). "The Annual RPI and Average Earnings for Britain, 1209 to Present (New Series)". MeasuringWorth. Retrieved 7 May 2024.
  13. ^ "Sarah Biffen — the limbless artisan". Human marvels. Archived from the original on 11 May 2013. Retrieved 17 March 2013.
  14. ^ "Sarah Biffin: the celebrated nineteenth-century artist born without arms or legs | Art UK". artuk.org. Retrieved 19 January 2023.
  15. ^ Jaleel, Gemma (23 January 2017). "Where to visit the graves of Liverpool's most famous people". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 1 October 2020.
  16. ^ "Sarah Biffin, Later Mrs Wright Self-Portrait Before Her Easel, Circa 1821". Sotheby's. Retrieved 1 October 2020.
  17. ^ "First show in 100 years of disabled Victorian artist Sarah Biffin opens in London". the Guardian. 31 October 2022. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
  18. ^ https://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/person/mp60194/sarah-biffin-beffin [bare URL]
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