Viewers of the hit TV series TURN, aka Washington’s Spies, are familiar with a sexy femme fatale artist who was a spy for the American cause in London and met her demise in a bloody execution. But the real Patience Wright was more of an enigma, although perhaps more controversial than her TV persona.
Quaker Girl
Who would have supposed a vegetarian and Quaker girl from the seaside hamlet of Oyster Bay, New York, would move in circles that included Ben Franklin and the king of England? In 1729, when Patience Lovell was four, her family moved from Long Island (coincidently not far from the locale of the Culper spy ring) to New Jersey. Patience Lovell grew up in Bordentown, not far from Philadelphia, the largest city in the colonies and home to the largest Quaker community.
At sixteen, the rambunctious Patience left her family and the quiet farming town of Bordentown for the busy streets of Philadelphia where, in 1748, she married a barrel maker named Joseph Wright. They would have four children together, by the time he died in 1769.
Wax Artist
Faced with poverty, the new widow Patience turned her hobby of molding wax figures into a small business venture with her sister, Rachel Wells, also a widow. Their waxworks became very popular – the figures said to be very life-like, a la Madame Tussaud of later years. Her work was very popular and she eventually had a shop in New York. It is unclear when and where Patience developed her talent for making wax figures, but she was known to have molded them into various shapes and figures to entertain her children. Regardless, her talent was quickly recognized.
Disaster
In 1771, her New York waxwork was destroyed by a fire and Wright decided to reestablish herself in London, a much larger stage than provincial New York and Philadelphia. Settling in the city’s West End, she soon had popular waxworks displays featuring historical tableaux and celebrities. Before long, her waxwork was favored by the elite of London society.
The Promethean Modeler
Wright’s work was in high demand and soon the upper crust would sit for hours as she worked the wax and molded it into busts and figurines. Her personality was eccentric for the day and class she engaged with. She often greeted men and women alike with kisses, clogging along in wooden shoes and chattering away like a fishmonger. In an age of high decorum, she literally broke the mold.
Her boisterousness resulted in the nickname "The Promethean Modeler." Despite this, or because of it, she became quite a celebrity in 18th-century London. But not everyone was amused with her antics. Abigail Adams was taken aback by her overfamiliarity and lack of modesty, deeming her “the queen of sluts” in one letter.
She is said to have softened the wax by rubbing it against the warmth of her body under her apron. Patience often did this suggestively, both amusing and irritating her subjects. But her work was excellent, and more importantly, very popular. She was commissioned to model King George III, and eventually other members of British royalty and nobility. Even the royals were treated to her style of casual banter and it was reported she called them by their first names while they sat for her.
Patriot Patience
Despite her dependence on the largess and patronage of British society, Patience Wright remained an American and a patriot at that. She was quite outspoken for the cause of the patriots, often antagonizing her customers. Patience also took action. American prisoners of war held in Britain lived in sub-human conditions. She raised money to support them. She met with pro-American politicians such as the activist Lord George Gordon and Benjamin West, who would visit her workshop to talk about the rebel cause.
Sculptress Spy
But did this make her a spy? Maybe yes, maybe no, but she had an active correspondence with prominent Americans and most likely provided them “nuggets” gleaned from her wealthy and high-placed connections during the early years of the American revolution. She corresponded with Benjamin Franklin and John Jay, both key figures in the diplomatic side of the war. Patience also wrote letters to Pennsylvania politician John Dickinson describing the British Army's preparations in England. Tales abound of her sending sculpted wax figures embedded with secret notes to her sister in Philadelphia. But this is not substantiated.
A Rapid Fall
Wright eventually fell from royal favor as a result of her open support for the colonial cause, especially when she reportedly scolded the king and queen after the battles of Lexington and Concord. Eventually, opposition to her patriot sentiments forced her to move to Paris. During her two years there she crafted a wax model of Benjamin Franklin but was unable to establish a waxwork. In 1782, Patience sailed back across the English Channel.
Back in London, Patience moved into the St. James’s Square home of her daughter, Phoebe, who was married to painter John Hoppner. In 1783, Wright made firm plans to return to America and sculpt wax busts of General George Washington and the other Founders.
As she wrote to founder and diplomat John Jay, “I wish for nothing more than to finish the portraits in wax busts of all you worthy heros that have done honour to themselves and their Company.”
The sculptor-patriot made plans to sail no later than 1786. Unfortunately, she had a serious fall and died of complications on 23 March of that year. Patience was buried in London but sadly, her gravesite is unknown.
America’s First Sculptress
Few of Patience Wright’s works survive today, largely because of the fragility of the wax medium. Wax figures were considered “low art” in comparison to bronze or plaster sculptures. Still, a full-length figure of William Pitt, Lord Chatham, is on display in Westminster Abbey. And some attribute a profile of Admiral Richard Howe in the Newark Museum to her.
Her subjects included Benjamin Franklin, female-soldier Deborah Sampson, and of course, the King and Queen of England. But she is known to have also made sculptures of Lord Lyttelton, Thomas Penn, and Charles James Fox. In all, she is credited with molding some fifty-five major works but her only confirmed work is the William Pitt, Lord Chatham figure.
Legacy
Patience Lovell Wright was a remarkable character in an age of remarkable characters. Wife, mother, businesswoman, artist, political activist, and spy. Yes, I am going out on the proverbial limb but her obstinate and willful character, combined with her patriotism, lends itself to the risk-taking needed for espionage. Hiding in plain sight, who would guess she was sending reports to Paris and Philadelphia? Her folksy brashness and subtle sexuality were sure to keep people off guard, enabling her more serious work to go undetected. Yet her artistic talents were real and impressive. And I have little doubt, had she made it home, her artistic accomplishments would have gained new heights and would be celebrated to this day.
