Patience Wright
Encyclopedia
Patience Lovell Wright was the first recognized American-born sculptor. She chiefly created wax figure
s of people. She loved to write poetry and was also a painter.
Patience Lovell was born at Bordentown, New Jersey
, into a Quaker farm family with a vegetarian diet. She married Joseph Wright in 1748. For years, she had amused herself and her five children by molding faces out of putty, bread dough, and wax. After her husband died in 1769, her pastime became a full-time occupation as she began earning a living from molding portraits in tinted wax. Making wax sculptures of people was popular art form in colonial America. Patience Wright was particularly good at it. She had a "energetic wildness" when she worked for she loved the work she did. When her wax figures couldn't take the heat (due to a fire), Patience took a boat to England. She kept her fondness for her "dear America".
"Promethean modeler," for her New World egalitarianism and often coarse speech as well as her artwork. She was patronized by George III
, and sculpted him and other members of British royalty and nobility, but fell from royal favor because of her open support for the colonial cause during the American Revolution
. Never forgetting her Patriot loyalties, she became a spy for the cause, often sending messages to America inside her wax figures. When Patience was constructing these sculptures, she didn't want anyone, who may inform the King, to know, so if Patience ever had any visitors while constructing the sculptures she would hide the bust (the head of a sculpture) underneath her apron, and try to distract her visitor by engaging in a conversation.. Wright's sculpture of friend William Pitt
still stands in Westminster. She passed on information on how the British were preparing for the war.
Some of Wright's other friends include Benjamin Franklin, Deborah Sampson, the King and Queen of England, and William Pitt. She sculpted wax figures of some of the people on both sides (loyalist and patriots). The reason why she did this is because she wanted to make as many positive images as she could of both of the sides.
Patience Wright's son Joseph Wright (1756–1793) was a well-known portrait painter. Her daughter Phoebe married British painter John Hoppner
; their son, Henry Parkyns Hoppner
, went on to become a Royal Navy
officer and Arctic
explorer. She died after a bad fall in 1786 in London.
Her home at 100 Farnsworth Avenue in Bordentown, New Jersey still stands.
Wright was featured as a character in Lillian de la Torre's story "The Frantick Rebel," part of her series featuring Samuel Johnson
as a detective, with Wright successfully tricking Johnson into supplying information to an American spy.
Wax figure
A wax sculpture is a sculpture made in wax. Often these are effigies, usually of a notable individual, but there are also death masks and scenes with many figures, mostly in relief....
s of people. She loved to write poetry and was also a painter.
Patience Lovell was born at Bordentown, New Jersey
Bordentown, New Jersey
Bordentown City is in Burlington County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city population was 3,924. Bordentown is located at the confluence of the Delaware River, Blacks Creek and Crosswicks Creek...
, into a Quaker farm family with a vegetarian diet. She married Joseph Wright in 1748. For years, she had amused herself and her five children by molding faces out of putty, bread dough, and wax. After her husband died in 1769, her pastime became a full-time occupation as she began earning a living from molding portraits in tinted wax. Making wax sculptures of people was popular art form in colonial America. Patience Wright was particularly good at it. She had a "energetic wildness" when she worked for she loved the work she did. When her wax figures couldn't take the heat (due to a fire), Patience took a boat to England. She kept her fondness for her "dear America".
"Promethean modeler," for her New World egalitarianism and often coarse speech as well as her artwork. She was patronized by George III
George III of the United Kingdom
George III was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of these two countries on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland until his death...
, and sculpted him and other members of British royalty and nobility, but fell from royal favor because of her open support for the colonial cause during the American Revolution
American Revolution
The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...
. Never forgetting her Patriot loyalties, she became a spy for the cause, often sending messages to America inside her wax figures. When Patience was constructing these sculptures, she didn't want anyone, who may inform the King, to know, so if Patience ever had any visitors while constructing the sculptures she would hide the bust (the head of a sculpture) underneath her apron, and try to distract her visitor by engaging in a conversation.. Wright's sculpture of friend William Pitt
William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham
William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham PC was a British Whig statesman who led Britain during the Seven Years' War...
still stands in Westminster. She passed on information on how the British were preparing for the war.
Some of Wright's other friends include Benjamin Franklin, Deborah Sampson, the King and Queen of England, and William Pitt. She sculpted wax figures of some of the people on both sides (loyalist and patriots). The reason why she did this is because she wanted to make as many positive images as she could of both of the sides.
Patience Wright's son Joseph Wright (1756–1793) was a well-known portrait painter. Her daughter Phoebe married British painter John Hoppner
John Hoppner
John Hoppner was an English portrait painter, .-Early life:Hoppner was born in Whitechapel, London, the son of German parents - his mother was one of the German attendants at the royal palace. King George's fatherly interest and patronage of the young boy gave rise to rumours, quite unfounded,...
; their son, Henry Parkyns Hoppner
Henry Parkyns Hoppner
Captain Henry Parkyns Hoppner was an officer of the Royal Navy, Arctic explorer, and draughtsman/artist...
, went on to become a Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
officer and Arctic
Arctic
The Arctic is a region located at the northern-most part of the Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean and parts of Canada, Russia, Greenland, the United States, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland. The Arctic region consists of a vast, ice-covered ocean, surrounded by treeless permafrost...
explorer. She died after a bad fall in 1786 in London.
Her home at 100 Farnsworth Avenue in Bordentown, New Jersey still stands.
Wright was featured as a character in Lillian de la Torre's story "The Frantick Rebel," part of her series featuring Samuel Johnson
Samuel Johnson
Samuel Johnson , often referred to as Dr. Johnson, was an English author who made lasting contributions to English literature as a poet, essayist, moralist, literary critic, biographer, editor and lexicographer...
as a detective, with Wright successfully tricking Johnson into supplying information to an American spy.
External links
- Union List of Artist Names, Getty Vocabularies. ULAN Full Record Display for Patience Lovell Wright. Getty Vocabulary Program, Getty Research Institute. Los Angeles, California.
- http://www.rabungap.org/uploaded/faculty/twass/American_History/Historical_Figures_for_Colonial_Town_Meeting.htm
- http://www.npg.si.edu/col/age/wright.htm
- http://score.rims.k12.ca.us/score_lessons/women_american_revolution/wright.html