Patience Wright

• Name — Patience Wright • Birth Name — Patience Lovell • Born — 1725 • Birthplace — Oyster Bay, New York, British America • Died — 23 March 1786 (aged 60–61) • Place of death — London, England, Great Britain • Occupation — Sculpture • Children — 4, including Joseph Wright • Relatives — * John Hoppner (son-in-law) • Henry Parkyns Hoppner (grandson)

Patience Lovell was born at Oyster Bay, New York, into a Quaker farm family with a vegetarian diet. The family moved to Bordentown, New Jersey, when Patience was four years old. At age 16, she left the family home and moved to Philadelphia, where in 1748 she married Joseph Wright, a barrelmaker who was many years her senior. She often amused herself and her children by molding faces out of putty, bread dough, and wax.

After many of her sculptures were destroyed in a fire in June 1771, Wright moved to London, England. Through a relationship with Jane Mecom, sister of Benjamin Franklin, she made her entry into London society. Wright settled in the West End and set up a popular waxworks show of historical tableaux and celebrity wax figures. She was honored with an invitation to model King George III, and would go on to sculpt other members of British royalty and nobility. • Illustration — Wright's statue of William Pitt Wright became known in London society for her rustic American manners, which were a source of both fascination and scandal. She wore wooden shoes, kissed members of both sexes and all classes in greeting, and in general did not follow the contemporary rules of comportment for someone of her class or gender. One rumor held that she had even called the king and queen by their first names, in an outrageous breach of conduct. Her reputation for unruliness led to the nickname "The Promethean Modeler", and she gained a level of celebrity in 18th-century London. Wright famously offended Abigail Adams with her overfamiliarity and lack of modesty about her skills. Adams wrote a disparaging letter home describing their encounter, describing her as "the queen of sluts." Wright's technique for sculpting wax contributed to this public conception of her character. She used body heat to keep the wax at a temperature where she could shape it, molding it under her apron in a suggestive manner, which scandalized viewers and was even parodied in newspaper cartoons. The medium itself was a form of "low art" and considered unrefined when compared to sculpture in bronze or stone. • Illustration — Satirical newspaper cartoon of Patience Wright Wright may have used this unconventional public persona as a way to drive business to her waxworks, making savvy use of newspaper coverage to get publicity for her artwork.

Wright fell from royal favor as a result of her open support for the colonial cause, especially after she reportedly scolded the king and queen after the 1775 battles of Lexington and Concord. Wright is said to have worked as a spy during the American Revolution, sending information back to the colonies inside her wax figures. The accuracy of this legend has been contested. She is known to have corresponded with Benjamin Franklin during the war, sending letters reporting on the health of his illegitimate son, William. She also wrote letters to John Dickinson describing the British Army's preparations in England. She advocated on behalf of prisoners of war held in Britain, starting a fund to support them and writing to Franklin on their behalf. A group of pro-American activists, including Lord George Gordon, Benjamin West, and Anthony Pasquin, would meet at her London workshop to discuss their cause. Wright moved to Paris in 1780, where she modeled a portrait of Benjamin Franklin.

Wright returned to England in 1782 and settled with her daughter Phoebe and her son-in-law, painter John Hoppner, at their home on Charles Street at St. James's Square. By 1785, she had decided to return to New Jersey. However, as she was making preparations to travel, she suffered a bad fall and broke her leg. Wright died a week later, on March 23, 1786. Her sister Rachel attempted to get financial assistance for her burial expenses, both from prominent American citizens and then from the Continental Congress, but was not successful. Wright was buried in London. Her burial place is in the St John's Wood Burial Ground, in St John's Wood, London. Although Wright had obtained George Washington's agreement to sit for a portrait with her, she died before she could sculpt him. A similar request sent to Thomas Jefferson would go unanswered.

The fragility of her medium means that few of Wright's works survive today. A full-length figure of William Pitt, produced after the Earl's death, stands in Westminster Abbey Museum. A bas-relief profile of Admiral Richard Howe in the collection of the Newark Museum is attributed to her. Wright's also made sculptures of Lord Lyttelton, Thomas Penn, and Charles James Fox. Wright's patrons included the King and Queen of England, Pitt, Benjamin Franklin, and Deborah Sampson. • Illustration — Wax bust of Benjamin Franklin by Patience Wright.

The authorities additionally record the heading Patience Lovell Wright. Her recorded language was English. She was the child of Patience Lovell. She married Joseph Wright. 3 children are recorded: Phoebe Hoppner, Joseph Wright and Elizabeth “Betsy” Lovell Wright.