Lecture by Joella Clamen about Patience Lovell Wright and her son Joseph

The revolutionary era will come alive as we celebrate the 300th birthday of Patience Wright with a lecture by historic educator Joella Clamen on “Rediscovering Bordentown's Revolutionary Celebrity Sculptress and Her Scandalous Son.” Follow Patience's remarkable journey from colonial Bordentown to the glittering court of King George III as she became first a famous wax sculptor and then a radical revolutionary activist. Discover the scandal at London's Royal Society caused by an allegedly treasonous painting by her artist son Joseph, before he returned to America where he sculpted Washington and designed some of our nation's first coins. Learn about the family's relationships with Ben Franklin, Abigail Adams, George Washington, and others. A display of original artifacts will accompany the lecture, and there will be an opportunity to try your hand at making a wax candle. Don't miss this special event!

After three years as an educator at Philadelphia's Museum of the American Revolution, Joella now interprets local revolutionary history at the Indian King Tavern Historic Site in Haddonfield, NJ. She also leads historical walking tours for the Philadelphia Society for the Preservation of Landmarks and for Context Travel. She has researched Patience Wright for many years, profiling her for the award-winning book Meet Your Revolutionary Neighbors 

published by Crossroads of the American Revolution, and delivering a virtual lecture for Context Travel entitled “Waxworks, Women and the American Revolution: the Story of Patience Wright.”