A lady, in white lace-bordered black dress with white sleeves, white ribbon tied at waist, upswept dark hair dressed in ringlets

Details

Sarah Biffin (British, 1784-1850)
A lady, in white lace-bordered black dress with white sleeves, white ribbon tied at waist, upswept dark hair dressed in ringlets
signed and dated 'Biffin 1817' (mid-left)
oval, 2 5/8 in. (67 mm.) high, gilt-metal frame, the reverse with locks of hair, seed pearl and gold wire on opalescent glass

Provenance

Christie's, London, 19 May 1980, lot 143.

Special notice

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Lot Essay

Sarah Biffin, later Wright, was born without arms but successfully learnt to paint with her mouth. She worked for George III, George IV, William IV, the Duke and Duchess of Kent, and for Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. An example of her work can be found in the Royal Collection with a portrait of Edward, Duke of Kent (see R. Walker, The Eighteenth and Early Nineteenth Century Miniatures in the Collection of Her Majesty The Queen, Cambridge, 1992, no. 742, illustrated p. 268).

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