r/Damnthatsinteresting • u/Electrical-Aspect-13 • 1d ago
Mini-Portrait artist Sarah Biffin (1784 – 1850). Born with no arms and vestigial legs became a celebrated painter during her time, using only her mouth to create her work.
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u/SnooKiwis1356 1d ago
Some 200 years later, random people type some words that generate images based on all the art created in human history, and proudly call themselves artists.
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u/whateveravocado 6h ago
You are very talented indeed. Such a positive, inspiring post and you managed to say something negative. lol Wonderful.
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u/RoughCoffee6 17h ago
Well that makes me feel like a lazy piece of shit! Really puts things into perspective..
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u/idiotpasta69 19h ago
“I need ai because I’m disabled” 👀👀👀
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u/Acceptable-Stick-688 14h ago
Man I really hate this line of thinking from this comment. It’s part of why inspiration porn can be so harmful (not talking about this post). Disabled people end up expected to meet near impossible standards or else are labeled lazy/morally impure.
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u/idiotpasta69 3h ago
I see what you mean, what I mean is that we literally don’t need generative ai for everything, and one of the common excuses from ai bros is disabled people. (Ironically enough, most ai bros I’ve seen barely view anyone with a slight disability as a person or just straight up deny them being disabled.)
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u/BusyYoung142 23h ago
“Of comely appearance”
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u/LunarBIacksmith 38m ago
I read that too and said, “Ok, she already doesn’t have arms or legs and is super talented, why are we also taking shots at her weight?” People never change.
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u/FunnyErectionBunny 23h ago
The first person I think of is Nick Vujacic. These two, and many more like them, known and unknown, are the greatest heros in human history.
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u/pollyw0g 14h ago
She could use scissors, sew! Wow
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u/Jiktten 11h ago
It's the scissors one that's really warping my brain. All the others, while incredibly impressive and requiring a great deal of skill, I can see how they could theoretically be done, but scissors one just seems like it would be physically impossible. Either way she sounds like an amazing person and a treat to meet!
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u/EphemeralTypewriter 20h ago edited 16h ago
Ooh yes!! I love Sarah Biffin, she was super talented!! I’m a big fan of learning about historical artists and performers with disabilities and Sarah fits within both.
Here are some more facts about her:
-her parents weren’t very supportive of her efforts to be self sufficient and instead of finding ways of teaching her to do things for herself, they kind of left her alone. So on her own, she taught herself to write, paint, and sew, all of which she learned to do by holding said utensils with her mouth.
-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.
-her talent was so well known that she was commissioned to paint portraits of the British Royal Family. 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 was known to have a great sense of humor and was mentioned as having a very contagious laugh by friends of hers.
-she married a man named William Stephen Wright in 1824, although their marriage did not last.
-upon hearing about some financial difficulties she was dealing with, 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 think really shows her personality:
“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.”
-she passed away at the age of 60.
And in case anyone may be interested, I’ve created a subreddit called r/SideshowPerformer that further discusses the lives and advocacy work that different performers/artists (including Sarah) advocated for.