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The Enchanted World Of Miniature And Small Art

Artists and art collectors long have been fascinated with creating in small scale. The MASF, which is headquartered locally, notes that miniature art is fine art, not novelty art. Ancient Greeks adorned their walls with small murals while coins and rings often bore engraved portraits. Monks in the Middle Ages embellished manuscripts with delicate illuminations and bordered them with a red lead pigment called “Minium” from which the term “miniature” evolved.

During the 15th century, medalists, jewelers and goldsmiths practiced this art and a fashion tradition began of wearing miniature portraits, often carried in a pocket or locket. Civilization’s westward movement eventually brought the miniature to the American shores during an era that came to be known as the “Golden Age of the Miniaturist in America.” The advent of photography in the mid-1800s nearly led to the demise of the miniature portrait, but the 20th century was witness to an early revival period followed by a more recent resurgence of interest in miniature art during the last quarter of the 20th century.

The MASF defines miniature art as “extremely detailed work, exquisite in color with a strength of composition which can more than compete with larger paintings.” It specifies that such art should be no more than 1⁄6th scale of the actual subject.

“A fine miniature can be magnified many times and it will still hold together as a fine work of art of much greater size,” the MASF website states. “Miniature art sometimes defeats the spectator's belief as to what is possible for the artist to create in such a small space.”

The Miniature Art Society of Florida, Inc., is one of a number of non-profit groups in the U.S. involved in contemporary miniaturism. Founded in 1974 in Clearwater by Bede Zel Angle, Dunedin artist and teacher, it has grown from two dozen early organizers to more than 400 members in the U.S. and several foreign countries. It has brought Clearwater and Florida to the forefront in the rising resurgence of interest in miniature art.

The society has sponsored an annual invitational show since 1975 at various local venues, most recently in January at the Dunedin Fine Art Center. This is the third year a special show of works for sale has been held at the Safety Harbor Museum of Regional History.

This year’s event will include more than 200 works of art from more than 30 artists. The quality of the art is exceptional and truly amazing, the museum said in a press release. The artists work in a variety of mediums and explore limitless subjects. Many of the works are for sale at a reasonable cost.

The exhibit will continue through September.

The museum is open 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Tues.-Fri.; 1-4 p.m. Sat.-Sun. Admission is $3 for adults, $2 for seniors and teens, and children 12 and under are admitted free.

For further information, please call the Safety Harbor Museum of Regional History at 727-726-1668 or e-mail shmuseum@verizon.net.