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On 1 November 2022, the first exhibition of Sarah Biffin’s work for 100 years opens in London, celebrating her as an artist who broke down the barriers she faced as a disabled woman.
She was “quite phenomenal”, said Alison Lapper, the contemporary artist who was born with the same condition, phocomelia, as Biffin and who advised on the exhibition.
The show was prompted by the unexpected success at auction in 2019 of a self-portrait by Biffin, whose work had faded into obscurity. It had been expected to fetch up to £1,800 but sold for £137,000.
“She was a brilliant artist, her work is exquisite, she inspired others. And she was a very determined and proud lady,” said Lapper.
Lapper, who was the subject of a sculpture by Mark Quinn that was displayed on the fourth plinth in Trafalgar Square between 2005 and 2007, said Biffin’s achievements were “remarkable”.
“It’s hard enough having a disability in the world I live in. For her, there was so much stacked against her,” she said. Lapper had a go at miniature painting, but “I couldn’t do the delicate brushstrokes. Biffin’s work is incredibly detailed and exquisite.”
The Guardian
31 October 2022
