Sarah Biffin, a limbless painter. Engraving by R.W. Sievier, 1821, after Sarah Biffin.

Sarah Biffin was born in 1784 in East Quantoxhead, Somerset. The baptismal register records that she was 'born without arms or legs'. She grew to be 37 inches tall. Between 1797 and 1813 she was exhibited at fairs by Emmanuel Dukes, a travelling showman, demonstrating her abilities in writing, miniature painting, needlework etc. Supported by the Earl of Morton she received lessons in painting from William Marshall Craig, and became an independent miniature painter in London, Brighton, Cheltenham and elsewhere. She received commissions from royal patrons in Brussels and England, and exhibited at the Royal Academy, London, in 1831 and 1832. In 1847 the Liverpool philanthropist Richard Rathbone raised funds for an annuity for her. She died in Liverpool aged 65 on 2 October 1850. Her surname is also spelled as Beffin,her forename is given as Elizabeth, and she was also known under her married name as Mrs Wright (Oxford dictionary of national biography)

"The portrait also offers a valuable insight into her painting technique. Her paintbrush is fastened to a loop, sewn onto the right shoulder of her dress while her painting slope is turned to face her. Biffin places the viewer in her studio and, with an expression of calm anticipation, aligns her observer with the perspective of someone sitting for a portrait." (Rutherford and Smit, loc. cit.)

London (33 Strand) : Miss Biffin, June 1821.

1 print : engraving with stipple ; platemark 35.5 x 29.3 cm

Miss S. Biffin. Born at East Quantox-head, near Bridgewater, Somersetshire. Without hands or arms. Dedicated (with permission) to her Royal Highness Princess Augusta. Engraved by R.W. Sievier; from a miniature painted by Miss Biffin.

Emma Rutherford and Ellie Smith (editors), "Without hands": the art of Sarah Biffin, London: Philip Mould & Company, 2022, p. 79, no. 3

Wellcome Collection 164i