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Mintorn Family
Elizabeth Sarah Mogridge (''née'' Mintorn; died 5 April 1903) was a British modeller in wax who became known for her natural history models for museums, particularly the British Museum in London and the American Museum of Natural History in New York. The bird exhibits at the American Museum of Natural History, for which she created backgrounds replicating the habitat (in collaboration with Jenness Richardson and her brother Horatio Mintorn) were the earliest exhibits in the United States to display birds in a simulated natural habitat; a ''Scientific American'' article praises her "very perfect reproduction of natural environment in every detail". Early life Elizabeth Sarah Mintorn was born around the early 1830s, the eldest daughter of John Mintorn, a miniature painter. Her mother (died c. 1839) was from a well-established family who lived at Wych Court in Gloucestershire. Elizabeth had two brothers and one sister. It is unknown whether she received any scientific education. On 13 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wax Sculpture
A wax sculpture is a depiction made using a waxy substance. Often these are effigies, usually of a notable individual, but there are also death masks and scenes with many figures, mostly in relief. The properties of beeswax make it an excellent medium for preparing figures and models, either by modeling or by casting in molds. It can easily be cut and shaped at room temperature, melts at a low temperature, mixes with any coloring matter, takes surface tints well, and its texture and consistency may be modified by the addition of earthy matters and oils or fats. When molten, it is highly responsive to impressions from a mold and, once it sets and hardens, its form is relatively resilient against ordinary temperature variations, even when it is cast in thin laminae. These properties have seen wax used for modelling since the Middle Ages and there is testimony for it having been used for making masks (particularly death masks) in ancient Rome. The death masks of illustrious an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
