"Most often, portrait miniatures were painted in watercolor on thin disks of ivory. They were sometimes worn as jewelry, sometimes framed to be viewed privately. Many were painted by specialists, although renowned easel artists - including Benjamin West, John Singleton Copley, and Charles Willson Peale - also created them to commemorate births, engagements, marriages, deaths, and other joinings or separations. The book traces the development of this exquisite art form, revealing the close ties between the history of the miniature and the history of American private life."--BOOK JACKET.

A scholarly, comprehensive study of the art of enamels in Europe, presenting examples from the seventeenth to the late nineteenth century. Demonstrates the extraordinary quality and scope of these exquisite works. This scholarly book contains comprehensive information on the art of enamels in Europe and England. It also examines the techniques and tools of enamelists and presents an overview of artists, patrons and sitters represented in this fine collection.

Diminutive marvels of artistry and fine craftsmanship, portrait miniatures reveal a wealth of information within their small frames. They can tell tales of cultural history and biography, of people and their passions, of evolving tastes in jewelry, fashion, hairstyles, and the decorative arts. Unlike many other genres, miniatures have a tradition in which amateurs and professionals have operated in parallel and women artists have flourished as professionals. This richly illustrated book presents approximately 180 portrait miniatures selected from the holdings of the Cincinnati Art Museum, the largest and most diverse collection of its kind in North America. The book stresses the continuity of stylistic tradition across Europe and America as well as the vitality of the portrait miniature format through more than four centuries. A detailed catalogue entry, as well as a concise artist biography, appears for each object. Essays examine various aspects of miniature painting, of the depiction of costume in miniatures, and of the allied art of hair work.

A highly readable account of the development of English miniature painting featuring masterpieces from the VandA's collection, which contains some of the finest examples in existence.

One of the finest collections in North America, the CMA’s miniatures span six centuries, bridge eight European countries as well as America, and number nearly 170 objects. These intimate portraits were exchanged by friends, lovers, and family members as tokens of affection and often commissioned on occasions of departure, marriage, or death. Delicate paintings in watercolor on ivory and vellum or enamel, they might function as relics incorporating human hair, can be set in elaborate boxes or simple frames, and were worn on the body or tucked away in a pocket. This exhibition reawakens the spirit of these works, which are removed by hundreds of years from the hands into which they were originally placed.0Exhibited in its entirety for the first time in over half a century, the stunning collection is presented from a fresh perspective and features more than a dozen new acquisitions. For 600 years, miniature painters were deeply engaged with issues of death, likeness, memory, identity, privacy, and body-centered scale. The exhibition includes works by five prominent contemporary artists - Janine Antoni, Luis González-Palma, Tony Oursler, Dario Robleto, and Hiroshi Sugimoto - who are invested in exploring these same themes today. The contemporary works are placed in an unprecedented, intimate dialogue with the portrait miniatures, revealing new relationships and uncovering hidden secrets.0Exhibition: The Cleveland Museum of Art, USA (10.11.2013-16.2.2014).

"Portrait Miniatures" by George Charles Williamson Williamson was one of the most renowned artists of his time and was a major figure in etching and prints. In this book, he puts his expertise to good use by examining the portrait work done by other artists around the world. First introducing this art form, he goes on to showcase those he believed best exemplified the craft such as Queen Elizabeth by Nicholas Hilliard, The Duke of Buckingham by John Hoskins, and more.

A sumptuously illustrated new catalog on British portrait miniatures, all from the world-renowned collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art