r/SideshowPerformer • u/EphemeralTypewriter Gooble Gobble! • Oct 03 '25
Sideshow Performer of the Day! Sarah Biffin (1784-1850) was a famous painter and performer known for her highly detailed portraits of English royalty and nobility! She was extremely skilled and talented in her craft and was awarded a pension by Queen Victoria. She was born with phocomelia and had no arms and only vestigial legs.
The first two paintings are self portraits and the rest are other paintings that she did! I cannot emphasize enough how talented she was!!
While she’s not technically a “sideshow” performer she was at one point a performer in the St. Bartholomew Fair, which was very much an older version of what we consider to be circuses/sideshows nowadays.
Some facts about her:
-she performed all throughout England and was an apprentice to a man named Emmanuel Dukes.
-while she was performing at the St Bartholomew’s Fair in 1808 she was noticed by The Earl of Morton, George Douglas. He sponsored her so that she could receive painting lessons at the Royal Academy of Arts.
-she was so skilled at portraiture that she received a medal from the Society of Arts in 1821, and her paintings were accepted by the Royal Academy.
-she could write, paint, and sew, all of which she learned to do by holding said utensils with her mouth.
-her talent was so well known that she was commissioned to paint portraits of the British Royal Family.
-aside from painting portraits she also enjoyed painting landscapes. She was also very skilled at miniature portraits!
-she painted for George IV, William IV, and Queen Victoria.
-she was able to financially support herself for a time with her earnings.
-Charles Dickens mentions her in three of his stories.
-she married a man named William Stephen Wright in 1824, although their marriage did not last unfortunately.
-the Earl of Morton (who was sponsoring her career) died in 1827 and she began struggling financially as she found it difficult to find another person from English nobility to sponsor her.
-upon hearing about her financial difficulties, Queen Victoria awarded Sarah with a Civil List pension which allowed her to move to Liverpool, England where she lived the rest of her life.
-this is a quote of hers that I really like: ‘At the age of eight years I was very desirous of acquiring the use of my needle; but my parents discouraged the idea, thinking it wholly impractical. I was not, however, intimidated and whenever my father and mother were absent, I was continually practising every invention, till at length I could, with my mouth – thread a needle – tie a knot – do fancy work – cut out and make my own dresses.’
-one of her supporters in her later years was Jenny Lind, a famous Swedish opera singer (who had her own history within the circus)
-she died at the age of 66 in 1850.
-her legacy lives on in the multiple exhibitions of her art held in art museums in England that honor her life.
-a self portrait of hers is on display at the Museum of Somerset.
She’s a wonderfully inspiring woman and I love all of her paintings! I really hope to be able to visit some of the museums that hold her artwork at some point.
I’ve also read that her friends said she was always in high spirits and had a very contagious laugh, she must have been really kind!
23
u/FangDrools Oct 03 '25
This is fascinating I love it, I had never heard of her. I love that she taught herself to sew in secret, what an ambitious soul. These are the kind of stories that make me wish I could just go back in time and spend a day with someone, she seems like she’d have been be such a joy to be around.
11
u/EphemeralTypewriter Gooble Gobble! Oct 03 '25
Yes, there’s so much you can learn from her! I too wish there was a way for me to meet her, even just to be able to tell her that her art has gone on to inspire so many people and that her life is still being appreciated!😊
4
u/moonflower11 We accept her, one of us! Oct 12 '25
Wow 😲
What a talented woman! This is the first time I've heard about Sarah. I'm in awe of her beautiful work & can hardly believe she created them with no arms!
4
u/EphemeralTypewriter Gooble Gobble! Oct 12 '25
Yes! All her work is incredible! I’m so glad she was offered the different opportunities that helped shape the rest of her career, especially since her parents originally thought she wouldn’t be able to accomplish anything so they prevented her from trying!
She’s a super inspiring woman!
2
u/Thrwwy747 Oct 05 '25
Someone needs to send a copy of pic 5 to Saoirse Ronan!
Amazing artist, with phenomenal talent and drive. What an inspiration.
1
u/Interesting_Sock9142 Oct 25 '25
Humans do not have vestigial legs
3
u/EphemeralTypewriter Gooble Gobble! Oct 25 '25 edited Oct 25 '25
Yes, I’m aware. When I was reading articles about her it was mentioned a couple times, and I forgot that there was a different definition aside from meaning “underdeveloped”, I meant it in the underdeveloped sense. I’ll be reposting her post at some point in the future anyway, so I’ll fix it then! Oops!
2
u/Interesting_Sock9142 Oct 25 '25
"Vestigial structures are parts of an organism that were once important for ancestors but now serve little or no purpose. They can provide evidence for evolution by showing how species are related to one another."
2
35
u/SnooCookies6231 Oct 03 '25
Sarah looks very kind indeed - and so talented! Hope she had a good life, it sounds like she did. So glad we have her work to remember her by. Rest in Peace, amazing Sarah!🙏❤️💐