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Wright became known in London society for her rustic
American manners, which were a source of both fascination and scandal. She wore wooden shoes, kissed members of both sexes and all classes in greeting, and in general did not follow the contemporary rules of comportment for someone of her class or
369:
By 1785, she had decided to return to New Jersey. However, as she was making preparations to travel, she suffered a bad fall and broke her leg. Wright died a week later, on March 23, 1786. Her sister Rachel attempted to get financial assistance for her burial expenses, both from prominent
American
278:
Wright's technique for sculpting wax contributed to this public conception of her character. She used body heat to keep the wax at a temperature where she could shape it, molding it under her apron in a suggestive manner, which scandalized viewers and was even parodied in newspaper cartoons. The
210:
When Wright's husband died in 1769, she was pregnant with a fourth child and needed a way to support the family. Working with her sister Rachel Wells, who by then was also a widow, she turned her hobby into a full-time occupation. The sisters set up a business molding portraits in tinted wax, a
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gender. One rumor held that she had even called the king and queen by their first names, in an outrageous breach of conduct. Her reputation for unruliness led to the nickname "The
Promethean Modeler", and she gained a level of celebrity in 18th-century London. Wright famously offended
230:
Wright's portraits were life-sized figures or busts with real clothing and glass eyes. They were modeled from life and were considered to be very lifelike. They were often placed in tableaux, illustrating the activities the portrayed individual might have undertaken in life.
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She advocated on behalf of prisoners of war held in
Britain, starting a fund to support them and writing to Franklin on their behalf. A group of pro-American activists, including
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Wright may have used this unconventional public persona as a way to drive business to her waxworks, making savvy use of newspaper coverage to get publicity for her artwork.
616:
170:, and the first recognized American-born sculptor. Wright is recorded as creating at least 55 works; only her full-length figure of Lord Chatham (William Pitt) survives.
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with her overfamiliarity and lack of modesty about her skills. Adams wrote a disparaging letter home describing their encounter, describing her as "the queen of sluts."
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Wright fell from royal favor as a result of her open support for the colonial cause, especially after she reportedly scolded the king and queen after the 1775
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Although Wright had obtained George
Washington's agreement to sit for a portrait with her, she died before she could sculpt him. A similar request sent to
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1226:
919:
McCalman, Iain (1996). "Mad Lord George and Madame La Motte: Riot and
Sexuality in the Genesis of Burke's Reflections on the Revolution in France".
892:
Davis, Robert S. (2000). "A Georgian and a New
Country: Ebenezer Platt's Imprisonment in Newgate for Treason in "The Year of the Hangman," 1777".
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popular art form in colonial
America, and charged admission to see them. By 1770, they had become successful enough to open a waxworks house in
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She is known to have corresponded with
Benjamin Franklin during the war, sending letters reporting on the health of his illegitimate son,
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and set up a popular waxworks show of historical tableaux and celebrity wax figures. She was honored with an invitation to model
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The Madame
Tussaud of the American Colonies Was A Founding Fathers Stalker, Smithsonian.com Weekly Newsletter (29 December 2013)
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who was many years her senior. She often amused herself and her children by molding faces out of putty, bread dough, and wax.
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Walsh, Megan (2012). "Review of Shaping the Body Politic: Art and Political Formation in Early America".
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363:
669:
Bullion, J. L. (1978). "Review of Patience Wright: American Artist and Spy in George III's London".
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The fragility of her medium means that few of Wright's works survive today. A full-length figure of
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Wright returned to England in 1782 and settled with her daughter Phoebe and her son-in-law, painter
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GOODFRIEND, JOYCE D. (2001). "New York City in 1772: The Journal of Solomon Drowne, Junior".
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as a detective, with Wright tricking Johnson into supplying information to an American spy.
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1067:"Local Events, Restaurants & Shopping: Bordentown, NJ: Downtown Bordentown Association"
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The Papers of Benjamin Franklin, The American Philosophical Society and Yale University
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After many of her sculptures were destroyed in a fire in June 1771, Wright moved to
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Baetjer, Katharine (1999). "British Portraits: In the Metropolitan Museum of Art".
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Wright moved to Paris in 1780, where she modeled a portrait of Benjamin Franklin.
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Sletcher, Michael (2006). "Domesticity: The Human Side of Benjamin Franklin".
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Palumbo, Anne Cannon (1995). "Averting "Present CommotionsPenn's Treaty"".
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Her home at 100 Farnsworth Avenue in Bordentown, New Jersey, still stands.
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283:" and considered unrefined when compared to sculpture in bronze or stone.
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Women In Early America: Struggle, Survival, and Freedom in a New World
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To George Washington from Patience Lovell Wright (8 December 1783)
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1041:"New Collaboration to Reveal Secrets of Nelson and Pitt Effigies"
424:. Wright's patrons included the King and Queen of England, Pitt,
251:, she made her entry into London society. Wright settled in the
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Patience Wright: American Artist and Spy in George III's London
456:(1756–1793) was a well-known portrait painter who designed the
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Life stories of women artists, 1550-1800 : an anthology
343:, would meet at her London workshop to discuss their cause.
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Baetjer, Katharine (2003). "Benjamin Franklin's Daughter".
747:
Bjelajac, David (2002). "Confessions of a Survey Writer".
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To Thomas Jefferson from Patience Wright (14 August 1785)
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story "The Frantick Rebel," part of her series featuring
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describing the British Army's preparations in England.
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People of New York (state) in the American Revolution
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Book of Ages: The Life and Opinions of Jane Franklin
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194:At age 16, she left the family home and moved to
1117:Toward an Intellectual History of Women: Essays
460:. Her daughter Phoebe married British painter
290:Satirical newspaper cartoon of Patience Wright
1237:American spies during the American Revolution
540:. Boston, MA: G.K. Hall & Co. p. 23.
397:, produced after the Earl's death, stands in
198:, where in 1748 she married Joseph Wright, a
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1110:Past and Promise: Lives of New Jersey Women
587:) CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (
166:; 1725 – March 23, 1786) was a sculptor of
583:: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (
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1192:People from Oyster Bay (town), New York
1007:The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin
536:Rubinstein, Charlotte Streifer (1982).
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116: 1748; died 1769)
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487:Wright was featured as a character in
1119:(Univ. of North Carolina Press, 1997)
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791:"Patience Wright | American artist"
309:Wright is said to have worked as a
1182:People from Bordentown, New Jersey
14:
1143:(Wesleyan University Press, 1976)
1112:(Syracuse University Press, 1997)
555:. Farnham, England. p. 422.
412:Wright's also made sculptures of
215:and mount tours of their work to
1262:Women in the American Revolution
1089:"Wright House Historical Marker"
894:The Georgia Historical Quarterly
401:Museum. A bas-relief profile of
304:battles of Lexington and Concord
1227:18th-century American sculptors
551:Kathleen, Dabbs, Julia (2009).
266:Wright's statue of William Pitt
113:
671:The William and Mary Quarterly
243:. Through a relationship with
1:
1217:People from colonial New York
1197:American emigrants to England
706:Journal of the Early Republic
279:medium itself was a form of "
16:American sculptor (1725–1786)
1222:18th-century women sculptors
1202:Accidental deaths from falls
324:. She also wrote letters to
183:Patience Lovell was born at
1252:Sculptors from Pennsylvania
1207:Accidental deaths in London
851:Metropolitan Museum Journal
370:citizens and then from the
73:March 23, 1786 (aged 60–61)
35:Portrait of Patience Wright
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1139:Sellers, Charles Coleman.
921:Journal of British Studies
1187:Sculptors from New Jersey
405:in the collection of the
223:. Contemporary physician
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1272:American women sculptors
1257:People from Philadelphia
816:OAH Magazine of History
795:Encyclopedia Britannica
828:10.1093/maghis/20.2.47
538:American Women Artists
468:, went on to become a
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409:is attributed to her.
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189:Bordentown, New Jersey
1232:Sculptors from London
1077:on December 10, 2007.
718:10.1353/jer.2012.0051
489:Lillian de la Torre's
466:Henry Parkyns Hoppner
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148:Henry Parkyns Hoppner
403:Admiral Richard Howe
372:Continental Congress
185:Oyster Bay, New York
52:Oyster Bay, New York
443:by Patience Wright.
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315:American Revolution
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364:St. James's Square
333:Lord George Gordon
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1115:Kerber, Linda K.
1108:Burstyn, Joan N.
1045:Westminster Abbey
441:Benjamin Franklin
426:Benjamin Franklin
422:Charles James Fox
399:Westminster Abbey
350:Postwar and death
298:Revolutionary War
249:Benjamin Franklin
206:Turn to sculpture
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1075:the original
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1049:. Retrieved
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439:Wax bust of
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217:Philadelphia
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144:(son-in-law)
142:John Hoppner
1177:1786 deaths
1172:1725 births
1013:(1): 1–72.
755:(2): 7–10.
418:Thomas Penn
313:during the
200:barrelmaker
168:wax figures
1166:Categories
1047:. May 2017
857:: 169–11.
800:2017-10-19
499:References
476:explorer.
470:Royal Navy
378:, London.
245:Jane Mecom
221:Charleston
179:Early life
150:(grandson)
88:Occupation
69:1786-03-23
992:153489437
949:153597178
879:191370507
777:191563309
734:144490756
579:cite book
571:317824669
174:Biography
135:Relatives
92:Sculpture
906:40584229
836:25162034
726:23315169
647:42677751
253:West End
124:Children
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474:Arctic
448:Legacy
428:, and
420:, and
339:, and
164:Lovell
162:(born
98:Spouse
1051:3 May
1023:JSTOR
988:S2CID
980:JSTOR
945:S2CID
937:JSTOR
902:JSTOR
875:S2CID
867:JSTOR
832:JSTOR
773:S2CID
765:JSTOR
730:S2CID
722:JSTOR
687:JSTOR
643:JSTOR
389:Works
112:(
108:
1053:2017
589:link
585:link
567:OCLC
557:ISBN
219:and
63:Died
48:1725
41:Born
1015:doi
972:doi
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859:doi
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757:doi
714:doi
679:doi
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362:at
311:spy
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