Sarah Biffen

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. 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, Biffin 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.

• Name — Sarah Biffin • Born — 25 October 1784 • Birthplace — East Quantoxhead, Somerset, England • Place of death — Liverpool, England • Resting Place — St James Cemetery, Liverpool • Other Names — Sarah Biffin; Sarah Beffin; Mrs E. M. Wright • Known for — Painting • Style — Mouth and foot painting • Patrons — George Douglas, the Earl of Morton • Spouse — William Stephen Wright (m. 1824)

Sarah Biffin was born on 25 October 1784 in East Quantoxhead, Somerset, to Henry Biffin, a shoemaker, and his wife Sarah. She was the youngest of five children and grew up in a farmworker's cottage on the outskirts of the village. Biffin was born with phocomelia, a rare congenital condition that left her without arms and with only vestigial legs. As an adult, she stood 37 inches (94 cm) tall. Despite her disability, she learned to read as a child and later learned to write using her mouth. As she grew older, she adapted to using her mouth to hold writing, drawing and sewing implements.

At about the age of 13, in around 1797, Sarah Biffin entered into an apprenticeship with the travelling showman Emmanuel Dukes, who exhibited her at fairs and public entertainments throughout England. Although earlier accounts claimed that she had been "sold" or "given away" by her parents, recent archival research has found no evidence to support those claims. Instead, surviving records indicate that her relationship with Dukes was governed by a formal apprenticeship. Throughout her teenage years and into her twenties, Biffin travelled extensively with Dukes, appearing at fairs and exhibitions across England. Dukes advertised her as the "Eighth Wonder", and audiences watched her write, draw, paint, and sew using her mouth and shoulder. Visitors paid an admission fee to watch her work and could also purchase examples of her handwriting, artwork and needlework. At the age of 23, in 1808, Biffin appeared at Bartholomew Fair in London, where she was exhibited from a showman's caravan decorated with the image of a mermaid. During the fair, George Douglas, the Earl of Morton attended several sittings, removing an unfinished miniature between each session so that no one else could alter it before returning it for Biffin to continue. Satisfied that she had completed the work entirely unaided, he became her patron and later arranged for her to study under William Marshall Craig. During her apprenticeship, Biffin's portrait miniatures sold for three guineas each, although later accounts suggested that she may have received as little as £5 a year from her work with Dukes. By about 1817, when she was in her early thirties, she left Dukes's employment under the patronage of the Earl of Morton.

• Illustration — A portrait by Sarah Biffin Supported by Morton, she opened a studio on the Strand in London and began accepting portrait commissions. During her career, she painted for King George III, King George IV, King William IV and Queen Victoria. She also travelled to Brussels with Morton, where she received commissions from the royal court. At about the age of 36, in 1821, the Society of Arts awarded Biffin a medal for a historical miniature. Her paintings were also accepted for exhibition by the Royal Academy of Arts, where she continued to exhibit during the 1820s and early 1830s. Her surviving works include portrait miniatures, landscapes, still lifes and self-portraits, many of them signed "Without Hands". Biffin also taught miniature painting, particularly to female students. Recent archival research has emphasized her self-portraits, letters and writings as evidence of how she represented herself as an artist. According to Ellie Smith, who worked on the 2022 exhibition Without Hands: The Art of Sarah Biffin, Biffin's self-portraits show how she "took control of her own image" and presented herself as a professional artist. After Morton's death in 1827, when Biffin was about 42 years old, her financial circumstances became more difficult. She continued painting and exhibiting under her married name, Mrs E. M. Wright. In 1841, at the age of 56, she settled in Liverpool, where she established a new studio and resumed signing her work as "Miss Biffin". In her later years, she was supported by a Civil List pension from Queen Victoria and by a public subscription organised by supporters in Liverpool, including Richard Rathbone and Jenny Lind.

At the age of 39, on 6 September 1824, Biffin married William Stephen Wright, a banker's clerk. Contemporary accounts indicate that Wright had "long been attached" to Biffin before their marriage. Following the wedding, Biffin temporarily paused her painting career and began exhibiting under her married name, "Mrs E. M. Wright". The marriage proved short-lived, and the couple separated within a few years. Despite the separation, Wright retained control of the money Biffin had earned and provided her with an annual allowance of £40. During the late 1820s and early 1830s, Biffin resumed her artistic career and continued exhibiting at the Royal Academy under her married name. After settling in Liverpool in north-west England in 1841, at the age of 56, she returned to signing her work as "Miss Biffin".

Sarah Biffin died on 2 October 1850 at the age of 65. She is buried in St James Cemetery in Liverpool, though her gravestone no longer exists.