Miniature portraits

The sitter’s identity is unknown, but she was likely a student of Martha Baker, who was living and teaching in Paris in 1899. Demand for Baker’s portrait miniatures was so great that she resigned from teaching to keep up with commissions. The artist’s obituary in the New York Times stated that she was “the world’s foremost miniature painter.” In this example, the sitter’s shoulders seem to fade into the pale background, emphasizing the similarity between her skin and the material upon which…

Anonymous portrait miniature of an unknown woman formerly attributed to a follower of Isaac Oliver

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During the course of their marriage, King George III and Queen Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Srelitz had fifteen children

Four Small Victorian Hand-Painted Miniature Paintings

This shows the striking feathered hat, curly coiffure, ruff, and carcanet necklace in the Coello portrait of Infanta Catalina from about 1585.

JOHN SMARTLondon 1741 - 1811PORTRAIT OF DAVID SHAKESPEAR (1751-1823)Watercolour over pencil on paper, g

This miniature was first recorded in 1740 in George Vertue’s Notebooks as ‘another Curious Limning. Sd. to [be] by H. Holbens. – the picture of Henry Guldeford. (when young.) Comptrolor – to K. Hen.’. The context of Vertue’s statement suggests that the miniature was then in the collection of Dr Richard Mead, and this is borne out by the survival of its original gilt locket, which is similar to those preserved with other miniatures from the collection of Dr Mead. The...