Sarah Biffen

A 19th-century disabled artist who became a renowned miniature painter despite being born without arms, challenging societal perceptions of disability.

Sarah Biffen (1784–1850) was an extraordinary English miniature painter who achieved fame and professional success despite being born with phocomelia, a condition that left her without arms and limited use of her legs. Taught to paint using her mouth, Biffen's story is one of relentless determination and artistic brilliance that shattered Victorian-era prejudices about physical disability.

Born into a farming family in Somerset, Biffen began creating art as a child under the tutelage of a traveling showman who exhibited her as a curiosity. By her twenties, she had developed such technical mastery that her miniature portraits gained patronage from royalty, including King George III and Queen Charlotte. Her 1821 election as an honorary member of the Society of Arts marked unprecedented recognition for a disabled artist.

Biffen's legacy lies not just in her delicate watercolor works displayed at institutions like the Victoria and Albert Museum, but in her role as an early disability rights icon. At a time when disabled individuals were often institutionalized, she built an independent career through sheer skill, even after buying her freedom from the exploitative showman at age 30. Her 1845 self-portrait—painted entirely with her mouth—remains a powerful testament to human resilience.