A Private Portrait Miniature Collection

Finished at Last

2012-01-27T11:25:00.000-08:00

So where have we been ? We haven't been hibernating but working hard on our latest book and it's finished and went to the Printers today!

The book is 296 pages A4 and lists over 2300 miniature painters working between 1870 and 1970 with lots of additional and previously unpublished information about many of them. After the dictionary section there are over a hundred pages in full colour showing the work of some of the artists painting during this time and a section on Photominiatures and Monograms and Signatures.

It will be available from mid March and we are offering club members a special price of £40 delivered. The Retail Price will be £65.

Please email us if you want to reserve a copy.

There will be an exhibition in London of the miniatures featured in the book towards the end of March. Details to follow.

Conservation of Later Miniatures

2011-11-09T10:26:00.000-08:00

Collectors will sometimes come across a miniature painted on ivory

which has become 'warped' or even worse, cracked.

It is possible to repair cracks and if done well by an experienced conservator,

the repair can be virtually invisible.

We have noticed that many later miniatures

(late nineteenth and early twentieth century) suffer from warping because

the ivory leaf has been stuck

to a backing board and this seems to be a regular practice during this time. Bonding different materials with different

coefficients of expansion is not a good idea,

especially with a strong glue!

This is a miniature painted by Ida Laidman circa 1915 of an

unknown lady and it was badly warped.

The ivory stuck to a backing board was even pushing

the back cover away from the frame.

When the miniature was removed from the frame the extent of the

bend in the ivory is apparent

Not a task for the amateur, the backing card had to be removed by a conservator in order to save the miniature from further curvature and eventual cracking. The sooner a conservator is used to restore the flatness to the ivory, the better.

A new acid free backing card had to be cut with the ivory sandwiched between this and the glass, without being glued to it.

The miniature was re-assembled into it's cleaned frame and is now looking
much like it did when it was painted. We thought the lady had a
slight smile on relief on her face!

Last Chance to see Special Exhibition of Royal Sitters and Annual Exhibition of the Royal Miniature Society

2011-10-22T04:07:00.000-07:00

The 2011 Royal Miniature Society Annual Exhibition is an even more thrilling spectacle than usual this year, with not only a stunning array of talent from living artists, which is reflected in the increased sales of exhibits, but an historic display of miniatures of members of the British Royal Family over the last 450 years or so.

Viewing the Annual Exhibition, which ends 1.00 p.m. on Sunday 23rd Ocober.

Iain Gardiner receiving the Mundy Sovereign Portrait Award

from President, Elizabeth Meek, with Dr. Stephen Lloyd,

who opened the Exhibitions, to the right, and Bill Mundy on the left.

The nephew of the winner of the Gold Bowl Award proudly receives his Uncle's trophy and gamely makes a gracious speech.

List of the Special Loan Exhibits - an historic sight with some fabulous and rare miniatures on display for the first time.

Curated by Richard Chadwick, the Special Exhibition has been a huge success and talking point. A few onlookers cheekily asked if any of the exhibits were for sale! The beautiful Exhibition Catalogue, in full colour, wonderfully researched and written by Richard Chadwick, is a marvellous consolation prize. At only £10 a copy and with the preface written by HRH The Prince of Wales, who is Patron of the Royal Miniature Society, it is a must-have catalogue for all miniature lovers. All the proceeds from the sale of the catalogue go to the Prince's Drawing School.

If anyone wishes to buy a copy, and is unable to attend the Exhibition where it is on sale, please email us on portraitminiatureclub@gmail.com and we shall put you in touch with Richard.

Weeping Glass - a rare disorder

2011-10-07T08:58:00.000-07:00

The ideal glass covering for a miniature is thin convex glass. This

allows a good view of the miniature and protects it from dust and
damage caused by glass rubbing against the paint and possibly sticking
to it and lifting it (as when flat glass is used). We have seen examples

where flat glass has rubbed the ivory and damaged the painting.

Side view of a miniature frame showing curvature of the glass

Flat glass is only used when there is a metal or cardboard 'slip'

that separates the painting from the glass,

usually when a miniature is contained in a travel case.

An example of a miniature with a mount and flat glass.

There is an uncommon condition called 'Weeping Glass' that is
caused by faulty manufacture of the glass.

At first glance,
it might look as though the glass is 'misty' or very dusty, but on
closer inspection one can see that on the underside of the glass there
is a thin film of condensation! If old glass contains 20-30 percent

sodium or potassium, it may have 'glass disease' where the glass

weeps and begins to break down.

Amazingly, this fine mist of water droplets

cannot be eradicated through cleaning, drying or any other
method that we know of! And as it poses a huge threat to the
wellbeing of the miniature it has to be removed and discarded
immediately, however inconvenient.

Annual Exhibition and Special Exhibition - The Royal Miniature Society Opens 10th October

2011-10-07T07:32:00.000-07:00

The winning entry for the prestigious Gold Bowl award was Mirage by
Ihtesham Hassan from Pakistan. He paints in oil on vellum and
watercolour on vellum and his remarkable miniature can be seen on
www.royal-miniature-society.org.uk. Over 700 exhibits will be on
display in the beautiful Mall Gallery during the two weeks of the
annual exhibition, Many of the wonderful exhibits are
for sale, encompassing portraits, animals, wildlife, still life and
all things miniature. A fantastic way to spend a morning or afternoon
(or some money on a purchase!) for anyone who will be in London over
the next two weeks.

Also there is a stunning display of miniatures from
private collections of british royal personages over of the last 400
years from Elizabeth I to date.

MINIATURE COLLECTORS MEET IN PARIS

2011-09-18T11:04:00.000-07:00

Last week we received an invitation from Bernd Pappe

to meet some Portrait Miniature collectors in Paris.

Bernd is well known as a writer, lecturer,

conservator and restorer of miniatures.

The Seine on the day of our visit.

We all met up at a small Moroccan restaurant in Central Paris for dinner.

There were twelve of us. Most of the collectors present were French

and primarily interested in Continental miniatures.

After dinner everyone brought out miniatures

for the group to inspect and enjoy.

We had a lot of fun and everyone was very friendly.

We brought along a few miniatures from our collection.

One was a miniature on vellum by the Swiss artist

Pierre Huaud II set in a gold enamel locket

The front has a country scene with a man fishing.

Inside is a portrait of Frederick Augustus I who was

Elector of Saxony in 1694and was also King of Poland.

This was painted c.1690 when the sitter was twenty.

He was also called Augustus the Strong.

Wikipedia suggests that he liked to live up to his name

by breaking horseshoes with his bare hands

and engage in 'fox tossing'

with a single finger!!

On the reverse is his initials at the time of the painting

Frederick August Herzog Zu Sachsen.

We also brought along a later miniature by Reginald Easton.

The sitter is Lucy Marion Hardy of Dunstall Hall near

Barton under Needwood just north of Birmingham

It was painted in 1875 and shows that there were still

very talented miniaturists painting during this period.

The group meet a few times every year, and on this occasion,

several of the usual participants were unable to come.

During the evening, we received an invitation from

one of the collectors and his wife

to view their collection at their Paris home,

which was a real privilege.

The next day we went to the Louvre. We were given a tip by

Thierry Jaegy-Theoleyre, a collector at the dinner,

that if we went to the 'Lion Gate' we could possibly get access

to some of the wonderful miniatures in the Louvre,

which are not usually on display.

After filling in forms and working our way through

French bureaucracy we managed to gain entry

into the Print and Drawing study room.

The study room is lavish and has a beautiful painting on the ceiling.

We later discovered that Bernd Pappe,

who carries out conservation work at the Louvre,

had put in a good word for us,

which helped in our access to the miniatures.

We had filled out forms with the reference numbers

of the miniatures we wanted to see

and these were brought to us in sealed boxes.

Gloves and magnifying glasses were provided.

We loved certain miniatures particularly.

This one by Augustin painted in 1795

of three children blowing bubbles was charming.

We are great fans of Louis Francois Aubry and we were

delighted to examine a self-portrait by him.

A miniature by Dumont.

Finally ,we were able to examine a large portrait

( 8 inches by 6 inches ) on ivory by Augustin.

The sitter is Antoine Chaudet, a painter and sculptor.

Unfortunately because of the reflection from the glass

the photo does not do this painting justice.

As always, we were astonished by the technique of the Master.

The light in the eyes and hair parting were extraordinary,

A true masterpiece which was the final highlight of

a wonderful few days in Paris.

Nicholas Freese (1761/1762-1831)

2011-08-17T10:53:00.000-07:00

Although very recognisable in style, up until now we have known hardly
anything about the artist called N. Freese. Some refer to him as Nathaniel, others as
Nicholas, but there seemed to be no evidence to support either, as the
very rare signature does not include a Christian name. He appears to
have worked for only a short period of time at the end of the 18th and
beginning of the 19th century.

All the miniatures by him that we have seen have been quite
large in size.

His style is quite distinctive. The first thing one notices is the
almond shaped eyes.

Now it is possible to piece together some details.

Nicholas Freese
was born probably in 1761. His parents were Nicholas Freese Senior,
who was born in Hamburg, Germany, according to his descendants. He is
listed in Baileys British Directory for Merchants and Traders as a
Merchant in Commerce, living at 7 New Street, Birmingham,
Warwickshire. He married Elizabeth Rowney in 1758 in St Martins,
Birmingham. She was born in 1730 in London. Nicholas Junior moved to
London to practice as an artist. Wakefield's Merchant and Tradesman's
General Directory for London lists him in 1790 as a Portrait and
Landscape painter, living at 426 Strand, London. His other known
addresses are 411 Strand and 9 Percy Street, London. On 29th August,
1791 he married Mary Stokes from Southwark (in those days part of
Surrey) in St. Martin in the Fields. Pallot's Marriage Index for
England reveals a copy of his marriage record, showing his distinctive
writing of his surname, proving his identity. The couple had a son,
George, named after his brother, who was a soldier and was killed in
battle. One of his daughters, Mary, became an actress. According to
burial records, he died in January 1831 and was buried at St. John the
Evangelist, Lambeth, aged 70. At the time of his death, he was living
at Waterloo Road, London.

On further inspection, one sees the thin scrawly red lines on the

cheeks of the sitter, almost as though he or she has been scratched by
a cat.

Not all his miniatures are as attractive as this. Some say that
artists who don't always sign their work tend to sign their best
examples, but this does not appear to be the case with Freese

An example of his signature.

Thunder Bugs

2011-08-16T13:39:00.000-07:00

Although seemingly rare to find inside tightly closed 18th and early
19th century frames, the sight of clusters of thunderflies inside more
recent miniatures, appearing as tiny black specks, is common.

It appears as though there is no 'modern' frame that they cannot penetrate,
and once there, they perish.

Thunder bugs, also known as
thunderflies, storm flies and thrips, are a pest as they destroy
crops, and have recently succeeded in entering even the LCD moniter!
About 1mm long or less, they love to hide in crevices.

Here, one is stuck to the painted side of the ivory.

Another one has 'glued' with the gum arabic in the painting.

Interestingly, we have not seen Thunder bugs in 17th. century frames.

This could be due the the design of the frame , or a change

of environment in the late 19th. and early 20th. century

The Mysterious Daniel Brothers

2011-07-18T08:57:00.000-07:00

Three brothers, all miniature painters, is not unique in 'miniature'
history. After all, there are the Naish brothers and the Theweneti
brothers to name two other trios who worked in the 'West Country' in
England during the late 18th and 19th century. However, unlike their
counterparts, the Daniel brothers did not sign their work, nor leave
helpful trade cards as an aid to identification.

Two Miniatures by Daniel.

The three Daniel brothers, Abraham, Joseph and Phineas, were the sons
of Nechaniah Daniel of Bridwater, Somerset and were considered to be
the earliest known jewish artists in the area. It has come to be
accepted wisdom that all three were taught the art of miniature
painting by their clever mother.

Phineas, the least heard of, worked mainly in Bristol, Abraham
(c.1750-1806) worked mainly in Plymouth and Joseph (c.1760-1803)
worked mainly in Bath and is generally referred to when one talks of
'Daniel of Bath'. There appears to have been a keen rivalry between
the brothers, all of whom referred to themselves as 'Mr. Daniel' (or
Daniell).

To compound the confusion, all three brothers had business in Bath and
Exeter at various times.
So which was which?

Looking through past records of sales of Daniel
miniatures in the major London auction houses over the years, almost
all of them appear to be attributed to Abraham. Abraham is the only
brother for whom a signed miniature has been found (depicting Rabbi
Moses of Plymouth), although to our knowledge there is no illustration
available and the whereabouts of this miniature is unknown. No other
signed examples have come to light.

According to the opinion of Graham Reynolds, as reported by A. Reubens
in his book 'The Daniel Family', Abraham's work has a broad band of
light on the bridge of the sitter's nose, not much in the way of
background, no detail in the hair and sharp edges on the nostrils and
lips. Abraham, who was an engraver and jeweller as well as miniature
painter, left an Estate of £1,500, with £50 apiece left to his
mistress and his illegitimate children!

Joseph Daniel was apparently considered to be the better artist in his
day, and he did not marry Mary Wright until 1798, only a few years
before he died aged 43. But long enough to father four legitimate
children. There were also tales of illegitimate children in Bristol.
His work is said to have more detail in the hair, more heavily painted
backgrounds, greyish shading on the face, and use of opaque white on
the costume of his sitters.

Looking at the two miniatures above and the enlargements of the faces below,

they would appear to be by the same artist.

Note the same treatment of the eyes and the upper eyelash line,

a rectangular shape of the nostril shading and the 'dotting' along the mouth line

If one looks closely at enlargements of Daniel miniatures in
past auctions, one can pick out some differences, including some of
those mentioned above. But as to which brother is which, that is
another story!

When we opened the first miniature

we discovered that Daniel used a 'trick'of the trade'
and had painted two small black dots on the back of the ivory
to make the eyes look darker on the painting.
He also added a little 'rouge' to give an extra red glow to the cheeks.
Interestingly, the second miniature did not have this extra treatment
so it would appear the artist only applied this trick
if he wasn't satisfied with the finished painting.

OVERPAINTED PHOTOGRAPHS OR PHOTOMINIATURES

2011-06-15T13:14:00.000-07:00

One of the big drawbacks with photography in its early days was the
lack of colour. This was overcome with hand colouring of the prints.
Sometimes the colourist was an artist who wanted to supplement his or
her income, or provide a cheaper alternative to a client. Some clients
specifically requested this service. Others learned their trade at a
photographic studio. Some colourists then went on to become
successful artists in their own right, including Walter Saunders Barnard, Ernest Widdas, Ada Whiting and Walter Herbert Wheeler (the latter artist becoming well known for his equestrian paintings. It is not known whether he painted miniatures)

Famous Swiss enamel painter John Graff specialised in the so-called Rajah watch portraits.

Few people realised that he was overpainting photographic images

Overpainted photograph by Katurah Collings

showing the shadow of the photographic print underneath

Charming photominiature c.1905 by Arthur Hands

Two basically coloured photographs probably of husband and wife

c.1940 signed SM

Two cleverly coloured photographs c.1950 by Alan Shayle

In their day, there was no intention to deceive on the part of those who worked as colourists for photographic studios and on their own account. However, at the height of the revival of the Grand Tour of Europe at the turn of the 20th Century, many prints were hastily overpainted and framed, usually featuring reproductions of Old Masters, and passed off as the real thing to unsuspecting tourists. Some were cheekily signed 'Reinolds' or 'Roi' or even 'Cosway'!

More recently, an overpainted photograph of a miniature of a soldier by Frederick Buck was allegedly sold at a UK auction as a portrait miniature painted on card!

Stefanie's Miniature Collection

2011-05-26T02:32:00.000-07:00

It is always fascinating to see what other people collect!
Stefanie from Canada has been collecting miniatures for 12 years. She
is interested in the unusual and collects from all centuries.

Stefanie says, 'What I am missing is contact with other miniature collectors.'

She would love to hear from other collectors to exchange news and views.

Please email us if you would like to be in contact with Stefanie.

Identifying a sitter painted by William Wood (1769-1810)

2011-05-25T14:12:00.000-07:00

This miniature by William Wood was purchased with the name of the sitter unknown

The only identification we had was the initial 'B' on the reverse

William Wood was very methodical in keeping records of his work and with a little bit of detective work it is sometimes possible to identify an unknown sitter

All images of William Woods records are

the copyright of V & A Museum London

The V & A Museum have five volumes of William Wood's records

of which three list his portrait miniatures.

Wood, for some reason, numbered his miniatures starting at 5000

He had coded numbers for the different colours used on each miniature and also a chart for the different sizes of ivory ovals. Sometimes he made a tracing of the subject's profile.

When a miniature was returned for repair he would have a complete record of it.

We know our miniature is a man in a blue coat with the initial 'B' and 3 inches in height and from this we have the following possibilities.

Miniature number 5431. 'Mr Bruce of Sloane Street, in a blue coat, little powder in the hair -Thomas B

6th size being 3" finished 9th July 1796'

This is a possibility as it was painted around the right year and mentions the blue coat and powdered hair.

5483 'Mr Belcher of - in a blue coat - dark clear complexion

Finished 24th March 1797.

Wood changed the coding of his sizes and 3 inches

became between 1st and 2nd size!!

This is also a possibility, although it is debatable that the sitter's complexion could be described as dark.

5715 'Mr Bateman of Bunhill Row. Finished 16th Nov 1799.

Delivered same day. Dirty complexion. Blue coat of 141.

Ivory glass papered and washed.. Touches of 148 on eyes.

25 white. Mixed madder reds? Dark parts of 261. Not breathed on.'

Together with outline of coat similar to our miniature.

This is probably the most unlikely, as the tracing does not match the finished miniature in its positioning of the arm and shoulder and the cut of the collar of the coat. The sitter's complexion is even, so unlikely this could be the man with a 'dirty' complexion.

Finally Number 5754. 'Mr Byles of Halifax.

Began 25th Mar 1800 Finished 8th April. Delivered 10th.

Bilious complexion. 25 white. Mixed reds as usual.

Breathed on. Very slight touches of 148. Blue coat

of 141. Faint blue of 213 in background.

The ivory is scraped then rubbed with pumice.

Afterwards washed off.

In Sept. 1803 I found it had acquired some mildew while in the West Indies.

And chiefly on those parts touched with 148 : perhaps breathing might be injurious!

This possibility is also unlikely because the Mr. Byles described here has a bilious complexion and was not painted until 1800 and the miniature in question reflects a fashion previous to this date.

When Wood talks of 'breathed on' he is recording whether he breathed on the watercolour while painting to keep it moist while applying more colour.

So the possible sitters are:

Mr Bruce 1796, Mr Belcher 1797, Mr Bateman 1799 or Mr Byles 1800.

Taking all the details into consideration, we would consider that 'Mr. Bruce of Sloane Street'

is the most likely candidate. Any comments would be appreciated.

Richard Cosway (1742-1821)

2011-03-27T07:15:00.000-07:00

Cosway was a prolific artist and at least one of his miniatures seems
to come up for sale in every major London auction. However, his
drawings are not so often seen. Even rarer are his oil paintings.

This oil painting, attributed to Richard Cosway, is the first we have seen
at close hand. It could well be that because they are unsigned and
quite unlike his miniature work, they are not recognised.

When Cosway was training as an artist in London, he was said to have
painted erotic scenes on snuffboxes. As far as we know, none of this
work has yet been discovered.

However, some of his miniatures could
almost come into the category of erotic, such as this portrait of

Lady Charlotte Sophia Leveson-Gower (later Duchess of Beaufort)

c.1787 Originally mounted in a gold box, this portrait was probably
painted for the benefit of her husband-to-be.

An unknown lady c.1785

At one stage this miniature was probably mounted in a box, as indicated by
the instruction written in French on the reverse. A smaller size
miniature of excellent quality, but not displaying the cloudy sky
background that became Cosway's trademark.

These next two miniatures are two classic 1790 miniatures with the famous cloudy sky background

and signed in full on the back.

Unknown Gentleman.

The signature on the back with Cosway's Latin inscription stating he is

miniature painter to The Prince of Wales

Madame Marie Laubevinska, an opera singer.

Cosway output included a lot of pencil drawings, some of them coloured.

A pencil and watercolour drawing on card. dated 1796. Either
Cosway never mastered perspective or else he deliberately elongated
the body for the sake of elegance.

The face is very recognisable as by Cosway

A pencil and watercolour drawing on card. c.1805 Earl
Harrington. Rare signature on the back. An extraordinary work,
reflecting the sitter's interest in magic and chivalry and his
obsession with Henry VIII.

Unknown Gentleman Signed and dated '18001'.

Cosway had never experienced writing
the numbers for the start of a new century and probably didn't know
how to 'start the year', hence the extra '0'. He was also rather
cheekily still using his elaborate signature with his boast of being
miniature painter to the Prince of Wales, which of course he was not
at this stage. Horace Hone had been appointed in his place in 1795 .
This later miniature, in sombre colours is rather sad, as are all the
miniatures he painted in this 'grey' period, perhaps reflecting his
own state of mind. Lacking the brilliant Cosway blue cloudy sky
background, his 'grey' period miniatures are never as eagerly sought
after by collectors

William, John and Edward Naish

2011-03-12T04:21:00.000-08:00

JOHN W. NAISH (1771-1852)

Born in Axbridge, Somerset, like his brother, William, he entered the
Royal Academy School on a six year course. The Royal Academy records
show that he entered the school on 18th February, 1791, aged 20 . It
is not known whether he completed the course. He exhibited miniatures
at the Royal Academy from 1790-1795. He is also known to have painted
sporting subjects. Apparently, a picture of a spaniel, signed and dated by him on
the back (what looks like 1791?) was sold at Sothebys on 21st November
1979 (Lot 23).
During his time in London, his known addresses are:

360 Oxford Street (1790/91)
464 Strand (1792/93)
25 Strand (1794/95)

Oxford Street in Victorian times

The Strand in Victorian times

Like his brother, William, very few signed examples of his miniatures
appear to exist. One, ostensibly signed on the back, is in the Dumas
Egerton Collection, now on long term loan at the Scottish National
Portrait gallery. Sadly, we have no good image of this miniature and
to date have been unable to obtain one.

By 1797, he is believed to have lived in Bristol at 27 College Green,
an address given on the back of a a miniature painted in that year. A
few years later, c.1803, he painted the pair of miniatures below
whilst at 43 Princes Street, Bristol. This address appears on his
trade card tucked into the back of the miniatures.

A pair of portraits c.1805 by John Naish when he was in Bristol.
Trade card on the reverse. Copyright of the Victoria and Albert
Museum, London.

Although the trade card does not mention the
christian name of the artist we know that his brother, William, died in 1800 and so strong
circumstantial evidence dictates that it is John. It cannot be anyone
else as the trade card states that the artist is late of the Royal
Academy and records show that only William and John Naish attended the
Royal Academy school and exhibited there. Daphne Foskett states in her Dictionary and Guide that William Naish lived for a time in Bristol, but there is no evidence to support this and it is extremely unlikely to be so. For one thing, William had a large and successful London practice, he is placed firmly at London addresses for all his adult life by his exhibits at the Royal Academy and he is always described as being a London resident by contemporaries.

Engraving of Isaac Ingall after John Naish

There are several known engravings after John Naish. An engraving dated 1797
by John Yeartherd, after John Naish, of Isaac Ingall (1678 - 1798), a
strange looking portrait. The sitter was famous for reputedly living
until 120! He worked for the Webster Family at Battle Abbey, Sussex
for 90 years.
In 1805, The Gentleman's Magazine states that John Naish '...resides
in or near London' and was patronised by and a friend of the late Sir
Joshua Reynolds, under whom he studied portraiture.

In some reference books, it is stated that John Naish lived with his
brother, William, at one time, but there is no evidence to support
this, despite the fact that they both lived at the same address, but
at different times. 262 Stand, London was occupied by William Naish
between 1786-91 and by John Naish during 1792/93 according to Royal
Academy records.

The 1851 Census records John Naish as being married and still
practising as an artist, aged 80. By this time, he had returned to
his home county of Somerset and was living as a lodger at 72 Silver
Street. The head of the household was a Mr. Durban, an agricultural
worker and his wife, a laundress. John Naish is recorded as having
died in 1852.

If anyone has a miniature or other painting by John Naish, or any further information, we would love to hear from you.

Alyn Williams (1866-1955)

2011-03-06T07:52:00.000-08:00

The Welsh-born artist, Alyn Williams, was one of the most successful
miniature painters of his generation. He studied art at the Slade
School in London, and also under Courtois in Paris. Although he set
up his practice initially in London, in later life he split his time
between New York and London.

Lady in a black hat Signed and dated 1898

He became the first President of the
Royal Miniature Society, a post he held for 50 years, exhibiting there
regularly. He also exhibited at the Royal Academy between 1890-1904,
the Paris Salon and in America. One of his most famous pupils was
Mahala Theodora 'Dora' Webb.

Unknown lady Signed and dated 1900

His miniatures of little girls are invariably insipid.

Unknown little girl Signed and dated 1900

Williams' first wife, Kathleen, was
from Derbyshire and the couple lived in Kensington. Later in life, he
had an American companion, Mrs. Anna Dorsey Williams, although it is
not known whether or not they actually married. It seems from
official documents that the artist intended to live permanently in New
York, but in the event, he returned to Britain.

His portrayal of
women utilizes harsh brushstrokes and bright colours.

Violet Hammersley Signed and dated 1906

He painted many
wealthy and influential people, including members of the Royal Family.
He always signed his work in full on the front, invariably with the
date, occasionally adding his address to the backing card.

King Edward VII Signed and dated 1908

Alyn Williams was a prolific artist with a long career.

Unknown boy titled 'Smiles' Signed and dated 1921

A Delve into George Engleheart's Fee Book

2011-02-21T04:53:00.000-08:00

George Engleheart (1750-1829) was one of the most prolific
miniaturists of his day. He also kept a detailed fee book, which is
still in the possession of his family descendants. Although there are
very useful extracts from this fee book to be found in George
Williamson's monograph on Engleheart, published in 1902, there is
nothing like referring to the real thing to glean those extra snippets
of information that make a miniature so much more interesting! Only a
few artists from the Georgian/Regency period kept details of who they
painted and what fees they charged, and fewer of these precious
historic records survive. For in those days, there was no fiscal duty
to keep such records, as there was no income tax or tax on savings and
a person's wealth was no business of anyone's, save for the curious
and the fortune-hunting.

'Miss Banks' by George Engleheart (in the collection)

1775 was Engleheart's first year 'in business' and his fee book
records that a Miss Banks was painted on 15th February 1775. Lady
Banks was painted the day before. The sum of £6 6s (6 guineas) was
charged for the two portraits and Engleheart's bill was settled on
25th March 1775.

'Captain Flint' by George Engleheart (in the collection)

By 1802, Engleheart's charge for a miniature had risen from £3 3s to
£12 12s, which was still quite a modest sum, as fees for top miniature
painters go. This is shown in the fee charged to 'Mr. Flint' for a
miniature painted 16th January 1802, and 'copied' on 23rd March 1802.
Flint is recorded as paying the artist for one miniature on 7th April
that year, with the copy being paid for by a Mrs. Seton three months
afterwards 'for Mr. Flint'. One wonders whether the Flints were having
a little financial difficulty. The artist cannot have been very
pleased, having to wait four months for his money. Later, the same
sitter is referred to as Mr. Geo (George) Flint and also Capt. George
Flint.

'Mrs. Flint' by George Engleheart (in the collection)

Reverse dated 1802

The artist does not record the date he painted Mrs. Flint, although he
signed it on the front and inscribed it on the back. This shows that
the records Engleheart kept were not completely comprehensive.

Six years later, the couple were painted again; Mrs. Flint on 2nd
March 1808 and 'Mr. Geo Flint' on 21st March in the same year.
According to the fee book, the charge was still £12 12s each and this
time Flint settled the bill 'promptly' on 30th May 1808.

Although we have not counted the entries in the fee book ourselves,
this figure is generally accepted as being 4,853 over the space of
Engleheart's 39 year career. This works out as an average of over 2
per week. Given that it is not completely comprehensive, it is
possible that his true productivity is nearer 3 per week. A truly
astounding achievement.

Ada Whiting (1859-1953) - a modern-day Anne Mee

2011-02-14T08:28:00.000-08:00

Ada Whiting, who was born in Australia, had a life that bore
extraordinary parallels to the famous Georgian miniature painter, Anne
Mee. Ada's father, George Cherry, who was born in England and
emigrated to Tasmania, was an artist, but he earned his living as a
photographer. His talent was recognised when he was appointed as one
of the small battery of official photographers following the
Australasian tour of the then Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Alfred, in
1868.

A pencil drawing by Ada of her father drawn in 1885 when she was 26

By the time she was 18, Ada and her four younger siblings were
orphaned, when both their parents died young. Ada moved her family to
Melbourne, where she found work in a photographers' studio, colouring
photographs. Largely self taught, she managed to support herself and
her family with this work. Later she met and married her husband,
Saville Whiting, a photographer. The marriage was not a success,
despite two children, and Ada left him. By this time, Saville's
occupation was described as 'Speculator'!

A self-portrait sketch

She painted her first miniature when she was 40 and two years later
exhibited two portraits at the Royal Academy, London. However, she was
not much interested in exhibiting, preferring to get on with earning a
living. Soon she became noticed and in 1905 the National Art Gallery
of New South Wales bought one of her miniatures for ten guineas.

Portrait of an unknown lady painted in 1907

(In the collection)

By this time, she was painting for clients around the world, including
many celebrities such as the most famous diva of her day, Dame Nellie
Melba. She and Melba became friends and Ada painted many portraits of
her. Urging her to come to London with her, where she promised to
introduce Ada to London society, the artist never actually left
Australia, much to her friend's dismay. Modest and stoical, Ada
carried on with her painting, taking what work came her way. Some of
her compatriots were scathing about her Tasmanian roots, dubbing her
'The Convict Artist', a nasty reference to Tasmania's past history as
a penal colony. In 1935, an Australian newspaper ran one of many
articles about her, praising her superb skills and stating that
miniatures were as popular as ever. She was a quick worker,
completing a miniature in two or three days, and always from sittings,
unless asked to paint a posthumous portrait.

In her later years, she lived with her son, Saville Junior, who was a
clever engineer.

Ada painting a miniature at the age of 80 with the aid of a magnifying glass

This miniature was painted in 1941 when Ada was 82.

(in the collection)

When miniatures became too difficult to paint because of her eyesight,
she painted flowers. She was still painting at 91. Many miniatures
by Ada are scattered around the world, all of them signed on the front
with her conjoined initials 'AW' and sometimes signed in full on the
reverse, also. We have noticed that her work is sometimes
attributed to a contemporary, Alyn Williams, as they share the same
initials. However, Williams always signed his name in full on the
front, which makes his work unmistakable.

We are grateful to Ada Whiting's relatives, who kindly gave us further
details about her life and supplied the photographs.

Out and About Looking for Miniatures

2011-02-08T06:56:00.000-08:00

On a recent visit to Bedfordshire we found ourselves looking for miniatures. Preferably a masterpiece! We happened upon two, neither of which was a portrait miniature.

The first, Woburn Abbey, was closed for the winter months.

After paying to get into the grounds and Antique Centre, (said to be the best outside of London)

we came across the second masterpiece.

The magnificent Cedar of Lebanon just before the entrance to Woburn Antique Centre.

The tree was reputedly planted between 1743 and 1800,

the heyday of the portrait miniature and during the lifetime of such great artists as Richard Cosway and John Smart.

Sadly, the Centre was not a source of rich pickings for miniature lovers. An example above of the classic fake miniature complete with piano key frame and 'signature' , politely referred to as a 'decorative miniature.'

Elsewhere, another example of the 'decorative miniature' with pretty bow top frame

and cheeky signature 'Rienolds!'

On the back, the sitters name, written in 'olde worlde' writing to add to 'authenticity!'

A crudely over painted print in battered frame.

And finally, not a fake but a pretty over painted photograph, (a 'photominiature')

signed and encased in a gold frame.

These were very popular during the late nineteenth and early twentieth century before mass availability of colour photography

Signature of photographer and artist. Some were more skilled than others.

A close up showing the photo underneath.

Happy hunting for that masterpiece!!

William Naish and William Thick(e) revisited

2011-01-23T08:10:00.000-08:00

Since we first wrote about William Naish and William Thicke and the
similarities in their work, we have had the opportunity to thoroughly
examine a number of miniatures by William Naish, and to do some
research into William Naish' s life. The breakthrough came when we
acquired a miniature with a Naish trade card on the reverse, an
earlier example than the one we already had.

An early miniature by William Naish, probably painted when he was in his late teens

With his Trade Card on the back. The printed 'Naish' on the card looking very similar to the signature on the one signed example of this artist's work that we have seen

The unsigned miniature already in the collection attributed to William Naish showing his mature style.

We then compared both of
these with one known signed and another unsigned miniature (not in our collection), both
ostensibly by William Naish, and obtained examples of engravings after
Naish. After looking for a while, a distinct set of peculiarities
became apparent, some of which even show up in engravings. This
caused us to completely change our mind about the possibility of the above
miniature being painted by William Thicke. It perfectly matches the
nuances picked up in all the William Naish miniatures.

This is what we noticed that the William Naish miniatures had in common:

A small round bare patch of ivory in the corner of the eye, which

looks as though it has been scraped out.

A round patch of light on the chin and a
block of light coming down over the top lip

Small dark brushstrokes modelling the tip of the nose
-and an oblong shaped light down the centre of the nose

William Thicke's work shares several techniques in common with Naish.
The rather naive appearance.The heavy lines under the eyes. The curvy full mouth.

The individual strands of hair. Even the modelling at the
tip of the nose looks decidedly similar. Anyone familiar with
Thicke's miniatures knows that they are modest little affairs, usually
with plain background, but occasionally with a curtain or something
more adventurous. The background strokes are usually fairly evenly
sized as seen in the following example from the collection

Mr. Nathan Crowe by William Thick(e)

William Thick(e)'s signature on backing board

William Naish, however, uses a variety of different brushstrokes in
his background and frequently changes direction.

An early engraving of a William Naish miniature

Although we see him
today as a rather quirky and unimportant miniature painter with a
short career (he was only 33 when he died), in his day William Naish made quite a
name for himself and built up a substantial career painting actors and
actresses. He was described as an 'esteemed' miniature painter and
The Gentleman's Magazine Volume 97, Part 1 1805 wrote on page 203
'Axbridge is the birthplace of two very great geniuses in the art of
painting, Mr. William and Mr. John Naish...The former (William) to the
irreparable loss of the Polite Arts, is lately deceased.' The magazine
even published a posthumous 'Ode to Mr.William Naish, Limner' written
by a friend.

THE BEAUTIFUL BUT TRAGIC CHILDREN OF ANDREW PLIMER (1763-1837)

2011-01-21T07:50:00.000-08:00

In 1801, Andrew Plimer married the dark haired, exotic Joanna Louisa
Knight (1774-1861). The couple had five children, four daughters and
a son, Andrew. However, Andrew Junior died when just a child.
Images of Plimer's family portraits can be seen in

Dr. George Williamson's book 'Andrew and Nathaniel Plimer', published in 1903. Many of these would
certainly be considered to be some of his finest work, particularly
the memorable drawings and paintings of his four beautiful daughters.

We recently purchased this large portrait on ivory of Charlotte, his
third daughter, measuring appox. 8.5 x 12 cms (3.1/2" x 4.3/4"). It is an
unusually colourful miniature and a great deal of work has gone into
it. It shows Charlotte as a young teenager. Around the time Andrew
Plimer painted it, his career was at an end, and he had stopped
exhibiting at the Royal Academy in 1819. The miniature, although no
image appears in Williamson's book, is described in detail on page
109, and its sale referred to at Christies on 12th June 1901, Lot 115,
when it was purchased by Mr. Phillpot for £54.12. In 1901, this
represented more than a year's wages for an agricultural labourer, or
four months' work for a teacher. Inquiries to Christies Archives
elicited the information that the miniature, described as a portrait
of Charlotte by Andrew Plimer, had been sold unframed. The beautiful
rose gold frame with split pearl surround had, therefore, been purpose
made for the painting after 1901.

A close-up of Charlotte, showing the amount of work the artist had put into it.

The engraving on the back of the frame with the erroneous
attribution to Plimer's brother, Nathaniel, must have also been
carried out during the last century. Nathaniel did not have a
daughter called Charlotte.

Andrew Plimer died in 1837 in Brighton, and one by
one, his beloved daughters died young. Selina, his youngest,
(1909-1841) was only 32. Charlotte (1804-1845) was 41. Joanna
(1803-1846) was 43.

Image of similar sized miniature by Andrew Plimer of his eldest daughter, Louisa

Only one of Plimer's daughters married, the eldest,
Louisa (1802-1864) and she was the only child to outlive her
mother. Louisa died aged 62, three years after her mother, Joanna
Louisa, who died aged 87.

Publications by Dr. Stephen Lloyd for sale

2011-01-20T07:41:00.000-08:00

The following signed publications - all in excellent condition - are available for purchase directly from the author (post and packing inclusive in quoted prices):

Richard Cosway, Unicorn Press, London, 2004, hardback, £15

Portrait Miniatures from the Clarke Collection, exhibition catalogue, National Galleries of Scotland, Edinburgh, 2001, paperback, £10

Portrait Miniatures from the Dumas Egerton Collection, exhibition catalogue, National Galleries of Scotland, 2002, Edinburgh, paperback, £10

Portrait Miniatures from the Daphne Foskett Collection, exhibition catalogue, National Galleries of Scotland, Edinburgh, 2003, paperback, £10

Portrait Miniatures from the National Galleries of Scotland, exhibition catalogue, National Galleries of Scotland, Edinburgh, 2004, paperback, £10

Portrait Miniatures from the Merchiston Collection, exhibition catalogue, National Galleries of Scotland, Edinburgh, 2005, paperback, £10

Portrait Miniatures from Scottish Private Collections, exhibition catalogue, National Galleries of Scotland, Edinburgh, 2006, paperback, £10

For further details please contact: Dr Stephen Lloyd, 22 Regent Street, Edinburgh, EH15 2AX, Scotland, UK; email

stephen.lloyd@macace.net

NEW BOOKS ON PORTRAIT MINIATURES

2011-01-12T11:22:00.001-08:00

2010 was a good year for new books on miniatures. At least six were
published (listed below). Two others were planned, namely catalogues
of portrait miniatures in The Prado Museum in Madrid and the Herzog
Anton Ulrich Museum in Brunswick, Germany.

'The Arturi Phillips Collection: A Catalogue of Portrait Miniatures'
by Roger and Carmela Arturi Phillips.
  ISBN 9782953662504

'Augustin: Jean-Baptiste-Jacques Augustin, Peintre en miniature' by Bernd Pappe.
  ISBN 9782953202960

'La Miniature Portrait de L'intimite' by Jacqueline du Pasquier.
  ISBN 978291554234

'Miniatures in The Wallace Collection' by Stephen Duffy and Christoph Martin Vogtherr.
  ISBN 99780900785832

'Modern Masters of Miniature Art in America' by Wes Seigrist
ISBN 9780982127834

'Victorian Miniatures In the Collection of Her Majesty The Queen' by Vanessa Remington.
  ISBN 9781905686230

Dora Webb's Commissions For Queen Mary's Dolls House

2011-01-10T04:35:00.000-08:00

The Dolls House is on permanent exhibition at Windsor Castle

Queen Mary, Queen Consort to George V, was fond of anything miniature.

The King's cousin, Princess Marie Louise, had the idea to give her a
'miniature' present with a difference and commissioned a fabulous
dolls house. The dolls house was to be a showcase for British artists
and craftsmen and took 1500 artisans three years to complete. The
house itself - a grandiose four storey structure with working lights
and plumbing - was designed by the great architect Sir Edwin Lutyens
and was built on a scale of 1:12. It was finished in 1924.

Tiny rugs were designed and hand woven, leather bound books for the library
included new stories especially written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and
Somerset Maugham, and little bottles of wine for the wine cellar were
filled with the wine indicated on the label.

The Foyer

The Dining Room

Amongst the top artists,
miniature painter Mahala Theodora 'Dora' Webb received ten
commissions, including a 3.9. x 2.7 cm (approx 1" x 1.1/2")
portrait of Edward, Prince of Wales.

Edward, Prince of Wales by Dora Webb

Hung somewhere in the Dolls House!

(The 'ARMS' after her signature referred to her associate membership of The Royal Miniature Society)

Coming from a family of artists,
and with precocious talent, Dora Webb had a facility for painting
animals and landscapes as well as people.

'Spot' by Dora Webb in our collection

painted in 1903

Two Poodles by Dora Webb in our collection

painted in 1959

Opening a Portrait Miniature painted by Frederick Buck

2011-01-02T08:36:00.000-08:00

Where possible we always open up the frame holding a miniature. It is particularly exciting

if the frame is original and has never appeared to have been opened before.

We do this for several reasons.

There is always the possibility that there might be information about the miniature inside, such as the identity of the sitter or perhaps a signature or note by the artist. Over the years we have made many exciting discoveries which have added to the historical value and interest of the miniatures. We refer to the occasions when we make a discovery as a 'bingo' moment. Apart from signatures or sitter's names we have found instructions from the artist to the framer and even a record of the hours worked on the miniature and the price. Of course these 'bingo' moments don't happen every time and sometimes, there is no further information inside.

Another reason we like to open up a miniature frame is that it allows us to clean the various parts such as the glass underside (which on a miniature several hundred years old can be very dirty) and re polish the frame. The cleaning of the actual miniature surface, other than a light dusting with a very soft brush, should certainly be done by a conservator unless you have knowledge and experience in cleaning watercolour paintings.

We have also found that some artists glued the ivory onto the backing support card with a strong glue which has resulted over many years in the ivory becoming 'bowed' and maybe even cracked. This is due to the differing expansion and the contraction rates of two dissimilar materials bonded together. A conservator is able to remove the backing board to release the ivory and allow it to return to it's original flatness.

Finally, removing the miniature from it's frame allows detailed photography, without the glass diminishing the quality of the photograph.

c.1805. An unknown gentleman by Frederick Buck.

This miniature was included with another in a lot we purchased at auction. We are not fans of Frederick Buck's work but he is a well known artist.

Born in Ireland around 1771, Frederick and his older brother, Adam, both became miniature painters. Frederick lived and worked in Cork and with soldiers leaving port to go to war he had a steady stream of clients wanting to leave their likeness with their loved ones or to take a miniature of their loved one with them. He had a production line of ivory blanks with various regiment uniforms already painted, waiting for the head of the sitter to be added, not always perfectly aligned! His naive painting method is very recognizable and in fact is quite popular with collectors, especially his miniatures of red coated soldiers.

In the above example , the gold frame was badly damaged.

The edge of the frame was badly bent in various places where someone had tried unsuccessfully to prise the frame open.

Here brute force had broken one of the connecting pins through the frame.

Frames are made in many different ways. A lot of the eighteenth and nineteenth century miniature frames were manufactured in two halves and kept together with brass pins around the edge. The pins in late nineteenth and early twentieth century frames are usually easy to extract because the pins have heads, but many frames have tapered pins around the edge and these are ground flush, such as with this miniature. It is impossible to open such a frame without removing the pins either by pushing them through the connecting frames or drilling them out.

After removing the pins the frame was opened for the first time in two hundred years.

Here we show the various components of the frame disassembled

1 and 2 - Front and Back frame

3 - The miniature on ivory

4 - Blue Bristol glass adornment for rear of frame.

5 - Backing pad for Bristol glass made from an old hand painted playing card.

6 - Centre compartment for rear of frame usually used for holding a lock of hair of the sitter.

7 - Backing support for the ivory made from an old trade card.

The backing support card in this case did not have any information on the sitter. It does have a doodle, a coffee stain (?) and some numbers which look like 32000, 10000, £11 and 470.

Perhaps the £11 referred to the price.

A close up under special light shows the quick coarse brushwork.

Perhaps more caricature than other artists' work, Buck used a uniform pale grey/blue wash for the background and always a short, sharp line at the tip of the nose.

Having taken the miniature apart and photographed its components, we noted that the miniature itself was a little bowed. We decided that the backing card had to come off, as this would probably have caused it to warp. This revealed an unexpected discovery! On the reverse of the ivory, Buck had made some bold embellishments, to an extent that we have never encountered before. This is a little trick that some artists used to accentuate the colours of the miniature as the translucence of the ivory allows the reverse painting to show through. Clearly, the fact that the backing card was stuck to the ivory, demonstrates that Buck had thought his 'little secret' was safe! If anyone else has a miniature by Buck with similar hidden 'attributes', we would love to hear from you.

Having now got to know him intimately, we have come to accept this frowning gentleman with startling blue eyes, and decided to keep him as an example showing the typical work of a well known journeyman miniaturist.

Frederick Buck c.1771-1840

Horace Walpole's Strawberry Hill

2010-12-31T10:09:00.000-08:00

HORACE WALPOLE'S 'STRAWBERRY HILL'

Horace Walpole (1717-1797) as the 4th son of the 18th Century British
Prime Minister Sir Robert Walpole, might have lived an inconspicuous
life if it weren't for his interest in collecting and writing, and his
astonishing transformation of a little villa in Twickenham!
Twickenham, about ten miles from Central London, was a two hour coach
ride from the capital in Walpole's day. Nowadays, it is a journey by
public transport of about an hour, by train, tube and/or bus and the
possession of an Oyster card.

2008 Strawberry Hill before restoration

2010 Strawberry Hill after £9million restoration

Purchased in 1748, Horace Walpole spent
almost fifty years and £20,720 on its recreation as a 'little Gothic
Castle' into which he packed paintings, objects, books, curiosities
and sightseers and was credited with starting a Gothic Revival. In
those days, the house was surrounded by fields and Walpole purchased
further land to augment the original five acre grounds to 46 acres.
From the top floor, there were views over the River Thames. Nowadays
the views are interrupted by suburban housing. The walls of the
grounds abut the pavement and road in surprisingly close proximity,
and it is now hard to believe that the once magnificent villa was a
teachers training college in the 1920's before falling into almost
complete disarray. A common problem with men who remain bachelors and
who have no offspring to carry on the 'tradition', on Walpole's death,
Strawberry Hill was left to a friend's daughter, Mrs. Anne Damer, and
was eventually inherited by the Waldegrave Family. In 1842, the 7th
Earl Waldegrave auctioned off the contents of the house and Walpole's
legacy was scattered far and wide. Walpole apparently relished his
position as an important collector and connoisseur and encouraged
visitors, although he made it clear that children were not welcome!!
Credited with being the first English collector to recognise the importance of the portrait miniature, he considered his collection of miniatures to be 'the largest and
finest in any country'! We might be forgiven for thinking that he was
perhaps a little naive and presumptuous, when we consider the large
and fine miniature collections in many of the stately homes as
compared to Walpole's collection, which apparently numbered around
130!! Walpole had a special miniature cabinet, measuring about 152 x
91 x 21 cm ( 60" x 37" x 8") made of rose wood and with ivory
ornamentation. This cabinet is now in the Victoria and Albert Museum,
London.

Portrait miniature by William Grimaldi of Lady Hester Stanhope (After Joshua Renolds) c.1795

This miniature purchased with a label stating it was from the 'Strawberry Hill Collection'

was once in our collection

The Lewis Walpole Library at Yale University has

painstakingly attempted to track down all known former possessions in
Strawberry Hill, and their work to date can be seen online at
www.library.yale.edu/walpole.org. The Victoria and Albert Museum held
a Strawberry Hill Exhibition earlier in 2010, and if you still have
the catalogue from that exhibition, you may like to keep it safely in
order to take advantage of the 'Two for One' offer for entry to
Strawberry Hill printed on the penultimate page. This reduction may
help to assuage any feelings of disappointment that the refurbishment
of the house is still not completed (at the time of writing) and there
is no furniture or furnishings or gardens, and one is left to wander
around wearing plastic overshoes and a dodgy audio headset in timed
visits 20 minutes apart. If you do not expect a mansion (the house is
quite small) but love gilding, stained glass, fantastical ceilings and a crazy
layout, the fabulous enthusiasm of the staff and the delightful
homemade fare available from the cafe will delight you.

Hopefully, at some time in the future, Horace Walpole's Collections will be reunited
with his beloved Strawberry Hill and we shall be able to see what
visitors to his 18th Century house saw, that made him famous as a
connoisseur. Nowadays, interest and connoisseurship in British Art is
promoted by the aptly named (but independent) 'Walpole Society'
(www.walpolesociety.org.uk), named after Horace Walpole, which
publishes a specialist volume each year in return for a modest
subscription.

Sir William Charles Ross 1794-1860

2010-12-14T13:10:00.000-08:00

Painted by Ross c.1809. Woman and Child as Venus and Cupid. Apparently only fifteen when he painted this unusual and romantic composition, it is believed to be the first miniature that the artist exhibited at the Royal Academy, London.

Sir William John Newton (1785-1869), who taught Ross. Miss Charlotte Cracroft (later Lady de Hochepied Larpent) c.1812. Master and pupil paint the same sitter, fourteen years apart.

Signed and dated 1826. Lady de Hochepied Larpent. Ross's mature style

Drawing by Ross of Elizabeth Horrocks (nee Miller) c.1856, a few years before Ross's death in 1860. Mrs. Horrocks was the sister of Thomas Miller, the industrial despot on whom Charles Dickens based Mr. Bounderby in his novel 'Hard Times'. This drawing is now in the Harris Museum in Preston. (www.harrismuseum.org.uk)

The details and images of Venus and Cupid and Mrs. Horrocks are courtesy of Mr. Andrew Sim (www.simfineart.com) to whom we offer our thanks.

An Invitation to Buckingham Palace

2010-11-27T03:31:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago, we heard that The Royal Collections had purchased a copy of our book, ‘THE ARTURI PHILLIPS COLLECTION: A Catalogue of Portrait Miniatures’. We were also invited to a reception at Buckingham Palace. The envelope duly arrived, unmistakably with a postmark
'Buckingham Palace' although it was sent from the office at St. James Palace. The Royal mail is collected from the palaces by liveried coachmen in one of the royal coaches and taken to the sorting office! This is to exercise the horses and to get them used to the busy London traffic.
In a rather unexpected modern twist, we were invited to RSVP by email!! Which we did!! There was a ripple of excitement in the art world at the prospect of the reception, and a lot of guessing and second
guessing as to who had been invited. The occasion was held to mark the publication of the catalogue of H.M. The Queen’s Victorian Miniatures – over 1000 of them – photographed and catalogued by the Queen’s Assistant Curator, Vanessa Remington, who had access to Queen Victoria’s diaries and papers.

For those of you not invited, you will be pleased to hear that it was not a lavish affair. There was no dress code, but nearly all the gentlemen wore dark suits. Guests were greeted, without fuss, by smiling uniformed attendants, both men and women, from all age groups and backgrounds. There was not a whiff of security anywhere. And certainly no X-Ray scanners or handbag searches! The sumptuous exhibition, Victoria & Albert: Art and Love - recently extended to run until end December by popular demand – was a fitting backdrop to the intimate world of the miniature artform.

With Christmas in prospect, Roger promply put the ornate carved ivory throne encrusted with diamonds, rubies and emeralds on his ‘wish list’ , presented to Queen Victoria in 1851 by the Maharajah of Travancore.

Carmela settled for Sir Edwin Landseer’s gorgeous portrait of Victoria, the Princess Royal, with Eos nuzzling her little foot, commissioned by Queen Victoria in 1841 to give to her husband, Prince Albert for his birthday.

On arrival, we were offered a choice of a glass of chardonnay or lemon and lime fizz. Miniscule little mouthfuls of food were served, without plates, cutlery or napkins, throughout the reception on little oblong glass trays, underlit and with pink and white lilies in the bottom compartment. Mini lamb burgers in tiny bread baps topped with goats’ cheese, quails eggs and dips, little quiches and tartlets and other dainty morsels.

Vanessa Remington came over to talk to us, dressed in an elegant black dress. She spent eight years cataloguing the Queen’s Victorian miniatures, taking time out to have three children! ‘Insiders’ had expected HRH Prince Charles to attend. He is known to be particularly interested in miniatures and is Patron of the Royal Miniature Society. In the event, there was no representative from the Royal Family, but this did not dampen the enjoyment and enthusiasm of participants.

Amongst the invitees, who made up a veritable Who’s Who of the Art World, were the legendary Sir Roy Strong, sporting a new look, almost unrecognisable, looking more like an older rock star than an art historian and former Director of the Victoria and Albert Museum, Alan Derbyshire, who is in charge of conservation at the V & A, Bernd Pappe, author and conservator of miniatures at the Louvre Museum. Of course the well known miniature dealer and connoiseur, David Lavender and his wife, Patricia, had been invited, as were the experts from all the major auction houses.

We were introduced to several decendants of famous artists, including the friendly and enthusiastic Henry Engleheart , the great nephew of the 'great' man himself, George Engleheart. During conversation we embarrassingly discovered that we had been bidding against him in an auctions as he tried to regain his ancestor's fine work! He and his wife generously took no offence and continued to chat to us amiably. The evening resulted in many invitations and renewing of acquaintance. Proceedings were discreetly brought to a close when staff circulated to collect wine glasses, murmuring ‘thank you’s’ and wishing guests ‘goodnight’.

Ten Modern Day Masterpieces

2010-11-21T05:40:00.000-08:00

Who says miniature painting around the turn of the 20th Century was dead? Here are ten miniatures, all painted between 1890-1927 that we would consider exceptional

c.1890 Mrs. C. A. Goodday painted by Hugh Nicholson on porcelain

c.1895 Two brothers painted by Lillian Wright on ivory

1907 A Champion Boxer painted by Amy Gertrude Chamberlin on ivory

c.1895 A Young Man painted by Mabel Lee Hankey on ivory

c.1895 Mrs. Yardley painted by Carlotta Nowlan on ivory

1918 Miss Frances Weir Cuthbert painted by Ethel C. Bailey on ivory

1927 Sarah painted by Mahala Theodora Webb on ivory

c.1910 A Spanish Toreador painted by Miss Blanche Hacker on ivory

c.1895 Lady in a White Hat painted by Rosalie Emslie on ivory

1893 Master William George Barnes aged 6 painted by Robert Henderson on ivory

John Graff 1836-1903 (Swiss) enamel portrait miniature painter

2010-11-09T14:15:00.000-08:00

A 'Rajah' pocket watch by Marcks & Co. Ltd. c.1895

During the latter half of the nineteenth century, a number of Swiss artists painted enamel portraits to be mounted into heavy gold pocket watches for the Indian Market. The watch movements were usually complicated and with as many decorations as possible and were made by companies like Marcks & Amp. Co Ltd. with the enamel miniature of the owner mounted on one side and the watch face on the other. These pocket watches became known as 'The Rajah Watches'.

The watch movements were mainly produced by the highly specialised watch manufacturers in the Vallée de Joux or Le Locle and delivered to the case makers in Geneva. The cases were almost exclusively done in the workshops of Ferrero, Tardy, Bonifas, Giron and Lamunière, based in Geneva. Important Indian clients often supplied the diamonds and other precious stones to be set onto their watches.

Some years ago we purchased one of these enamel portraits, signed 'JG', (without the watch!) and we had no idea what we had purchased until we were kindly supplied with the vital information by Roni and later Julian, two very kind gentlemen who put us on the right track. The enamel portrait shown above is of HH Maharaja Rajendra Singh Bahadur of Patiala and is signed by John Graff.

John Graff worked from photographs sent from India and was the acknowledged master in his field. He became one of Geneva's most famous enamel painters who was said to be able to catch 'an incredible likeness even from the most mediocre documents'. He was also renowned for his sense of colour and the astonishing relief of his work. John Graff's fame quickly spread throughout India and the dignitaries would often request his signature on the watches and boxes they ordered. His works were signed "J. Graff" or "J.G." or "Graff". However, he was harbouring a secret method of working, which only becomes obvious with high magnification!

Five examples of "Rajah Watches" with enamel portraits of high dignitaries signed John Graff are illustrated in Technique and History of the Swiss Watch" by Eugène Jaquet & Alfred Chapuis, plate 133.

Enamel miniature painting by John Graff from a Marck & Co pocket watch

from our collection Signed J. G. Date c. 1895

Sitter: Mir Ali Khan Mehoob, Nizam of Hyderabad

Close up detail showing John Graff's superb talent but also showing that the likeness was achieved by over-painting a photograph developed on the enamel base. Some of the 'giveaways' are the shadow under the red of the nostril, the faint shadow of the photograph on the lips and the halo around the face 'blending' the brushwork and the photograph. Perhaps you can see some other clues if you look carefully! This developing process was invented by Paris photographer Lafond de Camarsac (1821-1905) around 1867, for which he won a Medal.

On the back is stamped '18 carat' and M & Co Ltd

Interestingly a number is scratched under the stamping

'2673' which could have been a reference for which watch this enamel was intended. Alternatively, it could be the serial number of the patent granted for the development of the photographic image.

Another image of the Nizam of Hyderabad, showing the portrait in the watch.

Close up of enamel photominiature shown in first illustration.

A few more examples of 'Rajah' watches and an enamel photominiature in an elaborate gold box shown below.

Our grateful thanks to Roni Madhvani for sending us these additional images and allowing us to use them.

A Visit to The Royal Miniature Society Exhibition

2010-10-17T05:17:00.000-07:00

If you go down to the Mall today, you're sure of a big surprise....

Held annually at the prestigious Mall Galleries, (just up from Buckingham Palace!) the RMS offers a two week feast of today's top miniature painters' latest works. Entrance is free!

Last Monday, the Gallery was full of people who had come to see the opening ceremony and presentations. Starting from a couple of hundred pounds, original masterworks were on sale and being snapped up by eager collectors. For those looking to spend a smaller sum, beautiful and exclusive greeting cards, representing the works of winning exhibitors, are also on sale.

The Exhibition was opened by Rupert Maas who also presented the Golden Bowl award for the best piece in any medium. Rupert is the picture expert for the BBC's Antiques Roadshow. He was introduced by Elizabeth Meek, the President of the Society.

The Gold Bowl was crafted by Garrard, the Crown Jewellers, in 18 carat gold. The magnificent Bowl was donated to the Society by the previous President, Suzanne Lucas, who being a very practical lady, suggested that if the RMS should ever fall on hard times, the Bowl could be sold to save the Society!

The Gold Bowl Award was won by Iain Gardiner for his work called 'Reflection 4'. He was given a smaller silver gilt replica to keep.

'Reflection 4'.

Although not a portrait miniature we were impressed by the skill and technique of his complicated conversation piece on today's consumerism.

It was then we saw the the genius of Iain's painting ability with the large painting of his mother and father (on the wall behind him). The painting is 22 1/2 x 18 in (56.5 x 46 cm) and is painted in the miniature painting style. The painting took six months to complete and was selected for the BP Portrait Award at the National Portrait Gallery.

A close up of the faces shows the incredible detail in the painting

Even the shirt is painted showing the material 'fluffing' on the edge!

While at the exhibition we met artist and author, Katherine Tyrrell, who runs a web site called www.makingamark.co.uk and also one of the worlds most popular blogs on art, www.makingamark.blogspot.com. This is an excellent site for reports on all the art exhibitions in the UK .

An invitation to contribute to our new book

2010-09-16T11:06:00.000-07:00

We are researching and writing a new book concentrating on later British portrait miniatures between 1870 and 1970.

This book will be published next year and will include information on artists who were active during this period together with their sitters. This will be a valuable record of miniature painters working during a time which has not yet been covered in detail.

If anyone has any information about miniaturists working during this period, or has signed examples of their work, we should love to hear from you.

In a later post, we shall be showing images of some of the miniatures to be featured in the book.

The Famous Pierpont Morgan Miniature Collection

2010-08-18T10:43:00.000-07:00

John Pierpont Morgan, Sr. (April 17, 1837 - March 31, 1913)

John Pierpont Morgan was a financier and banker of considerable wealth. By 1901 he was one of the wealthiest men in the world with a fortune estimated to be $ 1.4 billion in today's terms. He was a fearsome man as the photograph here appears to portray. It was suggested that the arm of the chair he is holding looked like a knife being pointed at the viewer! Morgan was a collector of books, clocks, gems, paintings and other art objects. His collection of portrait miniatures was probably the greatest private collection that has ever existed. His private library for his book collection and art works in 36th Street New York was made a public institution in 1925. However the miniature collection of 795 pieces was sold and dispersed in a three day sale in1935 at Christie's in London. The sale realised $349,285 ($5,460,000 in today's values) which was only two thirds of what was thought Morgan had paid in total for the collection. Some of the most important and famous pieces are now owned by major museums. Shown below are some images of hand coloured facsimilies from the catalogue of the Pierpont Morgan Collection, written by Dr. George Williamson and published in 1906. Only 20 copies of this special hand made catalogue were produced, showing this extraordinary collection.

Charles de Cosse by Jean Clouet, thought to be the very first 'stand alone' portrait miniature to exist when the artist cut it out of an illuminated manuscript he had painted

Mary, Duchess of Richmond and Lenox (1625-1685) by Jean Petitot

Mrs Pemberton by Hans Holbein which was purchased in 1904 for £2750 (£220,000 in today's values) One of the most famous miniatures in the world, it is now in the V & A Museum London

The 'Armada Jewel' with a portrait of Queen Elizabeth I by Nicholas Hilliard

Lucy, Countess of Bedford, attributed by Williamson in 1906 to John Bossam

Madame Du Barry by Richard Cosway

Mrs. Oakeley (1762-1839) by John Smart

Unknown Lady and family by Samuel Shelley

Artist's son by J H Fragonard

Madame Elizabeth by Jean Liotard

Soloman Ben Israel by P A Hall

Jean Pierre Pagin by Francois Dumont

General Kleber (1753-1800) by Jean Guerin

Children of Madame du Coincy by Jean-Baptiste Augustin

Self Portrait by Jean-Baptiste Augustin

A sweet shop for miniaturists

2010-08-02T11:47:00.000-07:00

Walking through Great Russell Road in London recently towards the British Museum we came

across L. Cornelissen and Son established in 1855. Looking in the window was like stepping back a hundred years with a large array of pigments, gums and resins in small dishes. They have a huge range of rare and early colours and just about anything a miniature artist would require, except of course ivory.

Their web site is http://www.cornelissen.com

Later Miniatures in the Collection (Not in Catalogue)

2010-08-02T10:35:00.001-07:00

1893. Signed and dated. Robert Henderson . Master William George Barnes, aged 6

1903 Signed and dated. Mohala Theodora Webb. Jack Russell Terrier called 'Spot'

C.1905 Signed. Kate Earle. Little Girl Holding Flowers

1929 Signed and dated. Amy Gertrude Chamberlin. Lady reading a letter

1959 Signed and dated. Mohala Theodora Webb. Two Poodles

c.1905 Signed. E. Sartori. Unknown Lady

c.1900 Signed A.L. Unknown gentleman

1923 signed and dated. Louis Jules Minard. Girl with fair hair

c. 1950 Signed K.C. Little Girl in yellow ribbon

1947 Signed and dated A.S. A Priest

c.1930 Signed. Kate Winifred Walker. Mrs. 'Katrine' Murray Austin

1908 Signed and dated. Hannah Elizabeth Smith. Miss Edith Smith

c.1890 Signed. Hugh Nicholson. Mrs. C. A. Goodday

1965 Signed and dated. Violet Young. Pekinese called 'Suki' aged 9

CATALOGUE OF OUR COLLECTION

2010-06-28T10:43:00.000-07:00

THE ARTURI PHILLIPS COLLECTION: A catalogue of Portrait Miniatures. Featuring the work of over 130 artists dating from 1588-2004. ISBN 978-2-9536625-0-4. 447 pages all in colour, hardback, printed on art paper, with a double page devoted to each miniature, including full page enlargements showing brushstrokes, signatures, etc. In this book, which we have written for collectors, we discuss our collecting criteria, our experiences in buying miniatures both from auctions and dealers, our techniques for photographing them and our storage solutions. There is also much new information on later artists. Weighing 2.5 KG (5.1/2 lbs) and with a retail price of Euros78 (£65) Please email us or obtain your copy from Thomas Heneage Art Books in London

(email artbooks@heneage.com) or for Australia copies may be obtained from Armadale Antique Centre (contact through their website www.armadaleantiquecentre.com.au)

For the United States please obtain your copy from CAP Miniatures New York

(email capminiatures@aol.com)

Also available for purchase on line at Amazon and W.H. Smith

Recent additions to the collection 28th. May 2010

2010-05-28T07:36:00.000-07:00

c.1910. Signed. Luie Chadwick. Girl with peacock feathers.

c.1910. Signed. Luie Chadwick. Girl in green hat.

c.1910. Signed E Gregon. Boy in sailor suit.

c.1905. Signed. Lionel (Hugh) Heath. Unknown lady.

c.1840. Louis Francois Aubry. Monsieur Rivio, opera singer.

c.1799. N. Freese. The Hon. Mary Ann Adams.

1789. Signed and dated. Horace Hone. Unknown Lady.

1651. Signed and dated. Samuel Cooper. Possibly Richard Cromwell.

The enamel back of the above Samuel Cooper original frame.

c.1640. Signed. John Hoskins. Charles I.

Please note that the above miniatures will not be in the book publication of the collection

Artist identification

2010-05-27T12:00:00.001-07:00

This lovely miniature of a young girl has the artist initials MJH

One of our members, Joy, who owns this miniature, would love to hear from

anyone who might know the name of this artist or any suggestions as to who

the artist it might be.

Please leave your comments and suggestions here on this post.

Thank you

A visit to Saint Die-Des-Vosges

2010-05-03T05:14:00.000-07:00

Museum Pierre-Noel, Saint Die des Vosges, France

Jean-Baptiste Augustin Exhibition

17th. April - 20th. June 2010

Claude Derville Malechard, signed and dated 1801 by Jean-Baptiste Augustin (1759- 1832) from our collection

A Visit to St. Die-des-Vosges, (birth place of Jean-Baptiste Augustin) April 2010.

If we had to choose a miniaturist who stands above all others then Augustin would have to be high if not first on the list, so to visit his home town and see an Exhibition celebrating the 250 year anniversary of his birth was very exciting for us.

We were surprised to find that the town had been almost completely re-built after the war and does not give an impression of what it might have been like during Augustin’s day. One imagines it was a small sleepy backwater with tiny houses and cobbled streets. Seeing the dramatic backdrop of densely forested hills, as seen from the position of where his family house once stood, it is possible to see why he said that he got his inspiration from meditation and nature.

A lovely catalogue has been produced for the Exhibition, albeit in French, which was good practise for us!

Several miniatures in the Exhibition were lent by The Louvre Museum, Paris and The Tansey Foundation. (http://www.miniaturen-tansey.de/en/miniatures)

The story of Augustin's life was told using panels around the room with the exhibits in glass top desk- like cases in the centre. Some magnifying glasses were helpfully supplied on each case, fastened with a short lead, as a reminder to the user not to take it away! Unfortunately we were not allowed to take any photographs inside the Exhibition room.

Augustin came from a modest family, his grandfather being a baker and his father a glass worker. His huge talent made him very successful after his move to Paris. After considerable early success, he met and married his true love Pauline Du Cruet, 22 years his junior, who came from high society and elevated his social status. During his career, his thriving studio had over four hundred pupils, eager to learn his painting techniques. His wife, also a miniaturist, was one of his most accomplished pupils. The couple were obviously a love-match, but had no children. Augustin's ' rags to riches 'story is the stuff of Hollywood movies!

One intriguing exhibit was the preparatory drawings for his masterpiece of Marie-Therese Charlotte, the Duchess d’Angouleme. From these drawings, Augustin painted a large miniature about ten inches high, on ivory. Two copies of this painting are known to be in existence, one dated 1818 and another 1824. They represent Augustin at the height of his powers. The detail is extraordinary with his usual superb flesh tones. We show here details of the diamond tiara showing the different reflective colours in the stones, the lightness of the feather headdress and of course his wonderful technique for eyes.

Marie-Therese-Charlotte, Duchess d'Angouleme

Headdress detail

Detail of hand on breast

Detail of her dress

The colour catalogue of the Exhibition costs Euros 20, ISBN 978-2-9532029-6-0.

Ethol Court ARMS Miniaturist

2010-03-19T08:34:00.000-07:00

The image of this miniature by Ethol Court c.1955 of Master Stephen G. F. Aubury is reproduced by kind permission of the owner.

The background colours and style of the two miniatures by this artist are very similar, but clearly she has taken more care over her portrayal of this adorable looking little boy.

We are indebted to Mr. Aubury for allowing us to use this miniature to demonstrate the superb skills of Ethol Court. If anyone else has a miniature by this artist we would like to hear from you.

This Miniature by Ethol Court of Mrs. Galburge 1956 is in the collection

Mrs. Ethol Court (1898-1965) became well known as a miniature painter in the area where she lived. Originally from Preston, Lancashire, her family relocated to Ealing, where she met and married her husband, George. She started painting in her early 20's. In October 1956, her local newspaper ran an article about her, mentioning that she exhibited at the Royal Academy, London, the Royal Miniature Society and the Paris Salon. At the time, she ran an art club from her home at 67 Tentelow Lane, Norwood Green and members attended classes on Saturday afternoons. It is thought that the following year, the classes were held in Norwood Hall. Perhaps you posed for her club members, attended one of her classes or even commissioned one of her distinctive miniatures? If so, we would love to hear from you.

Ethol was one of five children.
Her father was a foreman fitter. Her husband, George,
was originally from Kent, where his father was a Builders Clerk and
then a Boarding House Keeper and his family too relocated to the
Ealing area. Before the first world war, George was a photographer
for Percy Peacock, who had photographic shops in New Bond Street,
London and Folkestone, Kent. During the war, he served in the Royal Engineers. It is not known where Ethol trained as an artist, but after more than 30 years of painting miniatures, surprisingly, she felt that her work was not good enough! She
only started exhibiting her work in 1953 and over the next decade or so, right up until the year she died. A member of the West Middlesex Art Club, she taught others how to paint miniatures.
Amongst some of her sitters in the 1950's were Allan
Holt, Mrs. Galburge, Gillian Caroll and Mr. J. E. Sobee. We are
always interested in hearing from anyone who knew Ethol Court or who
was painted by her.

A young member of the Newman Family painted by Ethol Court. Apparently painted from a professional photograph taken by Marcus Taylor of Southall. This miniature was exhibited in the Royal Academy.

An amazingly accomplished miniature of the Newman's twin daughters, painted by their grandmother, who was a pupil of Ethol Court. It is possibly an overpainted photograph, but the resolution is not sufficient to see for sure. However, it still shows an incredible talent. Note the background colours and techniques, which echo that of Ethol's.

We are indebted to the Newman Family, who were kind enough to send us these images and give their permission for them to be reproduced here.

Services for Collectors

2010-03-10T04:39:00.000-08:00

Here we will give details of services offered to collectors by people who have contacted us. Please note we do not offer any guarantee or endorsement.

Conservator Of Portrait Miniatures. Margo Guerrero, Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA

Email: mlgcurio@yahoo.com.

Recognising artist styles and techniques

2010-02-26T03:41:00.000-08:00

The eye below is from this miniature by Richard Cosway 1742-1821

Statue of Richard Cosway outside the Victoria and Albert Museum, London

A competition to extend the V & A Museum was held in 1891 and was won by Aston Webb, who was then awarded the contract to design the present Museum facade. The building work was completed in 1909. The facade included the famous double entrance over which a statue of Prince Albert and a bust of Queen Victoria preside. Amongst the thirty two other statues of great British artists, architects and sculptors which also adorn the front of the building is Richard Cosway (seen above) in pride of place to the left of Prince Albert. He is the only miniature painter to be represented (although he also painted in oils and produced many pencil and watercolour and chalk drawings in his long career). Amongst the other luminaries of the art world are the heavyweights Gainsborough, Hogarth and Reynolds. Cosway's statue was sculpted by Ernest Gillick (1874-1951) who was only twenty seven years old when he was awarded the contract for the statues of Richard Cosway and Joseph Mallord William Turner. Nowadays, Cosway's statue 'companions' are still household names and known worldwide, but the name of Richard Cosway is known only to only a small number of miniature afficionados.

28th May 2010.

Here is another microscope image of an eye painted by an eighteenth century artist for you to consider. Note the 'dabbing' of the blue in the white of the eye and brown dabs around the iris. The vertical lines running down the photo are the sanding marks an artist would made when preparing the ivory for painting. Any natural oils in the ivory would limit the watercolours from spreading on the ivory and sanding was necessary.

To encourage you to make a suggestion as to who you think the artist might be here is a clue.

He stands outside the Victoria and Albert Museum beside the King.

We will post the image of the miniature in a weeks time.

Well Joy, looks like you are the only one prepared to have a try and your suggestion was a good possibility. The eye is from the miniature shown above. George Engleheart

25th March 2010. Here is another eye 'under the microscope'. Please have a go and make a suggestion as to the identity of this 18th Century Miniaturist, bearing in mind what is said below about the Plimer eye. It does not matter whether you are right or wrong. if the miniature is unsigned then your opinion is just as valid as any other opinion. We have been wrong in the past, but we continue to learn all the time, which is the most important thing. This particular artist was well known for painting his sitters with large deep set eyes

Well done to Joy. Not for identifying the eye as by Andrew Plimer so much,
but for having a go. What we have to remember is that Academics, Auction Houses etc. do not always identify artists correctly and wrong attributions are not uncommon. There are several unsigned miniatures in this collection that have had numerous attributions to different artists given by different Auction houses and Academics down through the miniature's provenance. By becoming familiar with Miniaturist's brush stokes is the way to becoming more confident, a bit like recognising someone's hand writing.

15th March 2010. Good morning friends.

Here is another eye for you to look at. It is by a very famous 18th century artist.

Please have a go and suggest who it could be. The cross hatching gives a clue.

10TH. March 2010. Well, no guesses on the anonymous eye so here is the face. Yes it is William Wood

In anticipation of the Augustin Exhibition April-June this year, what

better opportunity than to show an eye from a miniature painted by

this great artist. This photograph was taken using a microscope and

this enables us to see what the artist himself never 'saw' (other than

in his mind's eye). It really brings home to the viewer the artist's

incredible skills, which were mostly 'self taught'. Schidloff reports

that Augustin considered his skills were acquired through 'nature

and meditation.' Please bear in mind that the iris in this image is

0.050" or 1.2mm diameter, the pupil is 0.020" or 0.5mm! diameter.

If any other collectors have miniatures by Augustin that they would

like to share with all of us, please email us an image and we shall be

delighted to post it (anonymously if you wish). Or if you have any

thoughts or comments on the artist's technique, please let us know.

For comparison, here is an image of an eye painted by another well known artist, showing his very distinctive technique. Does anyone recognise this 18th century artist's style? Or why not have a guess? Please comment below.

Forthcoming Exhibitions and Events

2010-02-24T11:12:00.000-08:00

There is to be a Monographic Exhibition of works by Jean
Baptiste Jacques Augustin in his home town of Saint Die de Vosges,
France. The exhibition which will be in the Museum Pierre Noel and
runs from 17th April 2010 - 20th June 2010. It is curated by Bernd
Pappe, who has written the exhibition catalogue, which is all in
colour. Saint Die is only a small town and apparently located in very
beautiful countryside and famous for his annual meeting of
Geographers. We shall be going to this exhibition on Friday 25th April
- perhaps see you there? Roger and Carmela, Portrait Miniature Club.

10th March 2010.

Under The Magnifying Glass: Exquisite Miniatures

By Wes and Rachelle Siegrist

R.W. Norton Art Gallery, Shreveport, LA

May 4 - July 25, 2010

GUEST APPEARANCE: 2:00 Saturday, June 12, 2010: Presentation and lecture by Wes Siegrist on the History of Miniature Art and David J. Wagner, Ph.D. on Nature in Art History immediately followed by an exhibition Gallery Walk conducted by Wes and Rachelle and book signings by Wes and Rachelle Siegrist and David J. Wagner, Curator/Tour Director.

R.W. Norton Art Gallery, 4747 Creswell Avenue, Shreveport, LA 71106; (318) 865-4201; www.rwaf.org

This exhibition features 50 of the Siegrists' spectrum of miniature paintings including landscapes, portraits, still lifes, and wildlife drawn from their book Exquisite Miniatures by Wes & Rachelle Siegrist, available at the R.W. Norton Art Gallery, or online at: www.artofwildlife.com/miniature_painting_books.html

The World of Nature in Miniature;

Paintings by Wes and Rachelle Siegrist

West Baton Rouge Museum, Port Allen, LA

May 16 - July 31, 2010

GUEST APPEARANCE: 2:30-4:30 Sunday, June 13, 2010: Presentation and lecture by Wes Siegrist on the History of Miniature Art and David J. Wagner, Ph.D. on Nature in Art History immediately followed by an exhibition Gallery Walk conducted by Wes and Rachelle and book signings by Wes and Rachelle Siegrist and David J. Wagner, Curator/Tour Director.

West Baton Rouge Museum, 845 N. Jefferson Avenue, Port Allen, LA 70767; (225) 336-2422; www.westbatonrougemuseum.com

Announcements

2010-02-24T11:05:00.000-08:00

We are pleased to announce the Portrait Miniature Club has now been formed

(Association Loi No. W241001590) and is open for membership.

To join, members email us with their name and country of residence.
They are given a membership number. Email addresses of members are
not given to other parties unless they consent to it.

Miniature dealers may join the Club but may not contact other members
to make sales unless invited to do so, and may not advertise
miniatures for sale.
Members may not contact another to sell miniatures or services without
being invited to do so.

However, we shall be happy to mention those offering a service, such
as consultancy, conservation and framing of miniatures on our site,
providing an email address is given for members to contact the person
direct.

Members will be able to:
1. Advertise an exhibition of miniatures.
2. Advertise a book, catalogue or article on miniatures that they have written.
3. Advertise a wish to buy a certain miniature or book on miniatures.
4. Share information about a miniature or artist.
5. Request information about a miniature or artist.
6. Put forward a subject for discussion online.
7. Acquire our book at cost price.