Insights into the Contemporary Resurgence of Miniature Painting
and Helpful Resources

Please note: This page is no longer being actively maintained but please let me know if you find broken links! Thanks, Wes

  1. What Qualifies as a Miniature Painting?
  2. A Brief History of Miniature Art
  3. In Their Own Words: Quotes Defining Miniature Art
  4. Modern Masters of Miniature Art in America Book by Wes (FREE! PDF 56MB from lulu.com)
  5. Does Size Matter in Miniature Art? (PDF 750KB - written 2011)
  6. The Photo-Miniature and Paint-Overs (PDF 74KB - written 2011)
  7. Miniature Definition Essay by Wes (PDF 130KB - written 2007)
  8. The Issue of Computer Art and Miniatures by Wes and Rachelle (PDF 26KB - written 2001)
  9. Active Miniature Art Societies
  10. Miniature Art Resources
  11. Public Miniature Art Collections

What Qualifies as a Miniature Painting?

Miniature painting involves tedious and delicate brushwork that captivates under close scrutiny. The contemporary revival in miniature has been marked by a clear move towards explicitly including size and scale in the general description of the works. Partly due to the vague usage of the term miniature and in an effort to encourage and further define the direction of the art form most contemporary Societies have adopted a one-sixth scale guideline. This guide states subjects should be rendered one-sixth their life-size or smaller with some leeway given to naturally small subjects (hummingbirds, butterflies and delicate flowers). Some Societies place less stringent guidelines on subject size and limit only the image area. Framing guidelines have been loosened lately to include more molding styles and sizes as long as the overall framed work falls under the set size. Most societies encourage delicate frames matching the proportions of the artwork. (the framed artwork or sculpture should fit in an open hand)

Foremost in importance in contemporary miniature art is the highly skilled and painstaking techniques should be evident upon viewing the artwork. This is often defined as the work should hold up well under magnification. It should draw the viewer's eye deeper and deeper into itself with amazement at the gemlike details of the tiny treasure.

For more in-depth information please download: Modern Masters of Miniature Art in America by Wes (FREE! PDF from lulu.com or Google Books)


Personal Notes from Wes & Rachelle Siegrist

Miniature art normally fits into your pocket so it's not hard finding a place for it in any home, and for discriminating collectors who prefer to purchase originals it affords a one-of-a-kind quality at most artist's framed reproduction's price ranges.



Creating miniature art can be extremely tedious and painstaking with a narrow margin of error. We sometimes try as many as 5 times to put a highlight in the animals eye...often the paint being such a small amount dries before we can get it into the right area. Observers of our work are always amazed at how tiny and detailed the paintings actually are in real life versus what they see online or in print.

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Miniature Art Collections

This list was compiled by Wes Siegrist, Caroline Hayes, Don Shelton - www.portrait-miniature.blogspot.com and Christine Archibald - www.archibaldminiatures.com. Thanks as well to individuals that have offered suggestions and additions and especially again to Caroline for initially organizing the list by location!

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Active Miniature Art Societies

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Miniature Art Resources & Books

More information on Exquisite Miniatures by Wes & Rachelle Siegrist and The World of Nature in Miniature; Paintings by Wes & Rachelle Siegrist, published by us and featuring our work, may be viewed by clicking here.

Please feel free to contact us for additional information on these books below which are all part of our personal library:

  • American Miniatures - by Harry B. Whele
  • American Portrait Miniatures - by Dale T. Johnson
  • American Portrait Miniatures - by Susan E. Strickler
  • American Portrait Miniatures in the Metropolitan Museum of Art - by Carrie Rebora Barratt and Lori Zabar
  • The Artist's Workbook on Miniature Painting - by Joan Cornish Willies
  • The Arturi Phillips Collection, A Catalogue of Portrait Miniatures* - by Carmela Arturi and Roger Frederick Phillips
  • British Portrait Miniatures - by Graham Reynolds
  • The Catalogue of the Permanent Collection* (MASF) - Doris M. Liverman and Kay Petryszak
  • Dictionary of Miniature Painters 1870-1970* - by Carmela Arturi and Roger Frederick Phillips
  • English and Continental Portrait Miniatures - by Pamela Pierrepont Bardo
  • The English Miniature - by John Murdoch, Jim Murrell, Patrick J. Noon & Roy Strong
  • Exquisite Miniatures by Wes & Rachelle Siegrist* - by Wes Siegrist
  • European Portrait Miniatures in the Metropolitan Museum of Art - by Graham Reynolds
  • History of Miniature Art - by J.L. Propert
  • How to Paint Miniatures - by Robert Hughes & Elizabeth Johnson
  • Looking for Eulabee Dix, The Illustrated Biography of An American Miniaturist - by Jo Ann Ridley
  • Love and Loss, American Portrait & Mourning Miniatures - by Robin Jaffee Frank
  • The Magic of Miniatures - by Jo Clay
  • Miniature Art of Australia ~ Past and Present - by the Australian Society of Miniature Art Tasmania, Inc.
  • Miniature Art Today - by Bede Zel Angle
  • Miniature Painting: A Complete Guide to Techniques, Mediums, and Surfaces - by Joan Cornish Willies
  • The Miniature Portrait Collection of the Carolina Art Association - by Martha R. Severens
  • Miniatures - by Dudley Heath
  • Miniatures: A Selection of Miniatures in the Ashmolean Museum - by Richard Walker
  • Miniatures: Dictionary and Guide - by Daphne Foskett
  • Modern Masters of Miniature Art in America* - by Wes Siegrist
  • Painting Miniatures - by Elizabeth Davys Wood
  • Perfect Likeness European and American Portrait Miniatures from the Cincinnati Art Museum - by Julie Aronson and Majorie E. Wieseman
  • The Portrait Miniature in England - by Katherine Coombs
  • Portrait Miniatures - by Bill Mundy
  • Portrait Miniatures 2 - by Bill Mundy
  • Portrait Miniatures from the Daphne Foskett Collection - by Stephen Lloyd
  • Portrait Miniatures from Scottish Private Collections - by Stephen Lloyd
  • Portrait Miniatures in Early American History: 1750-1840 - by R.W. Norton Staff
  • Portrait Miniatures Oriental - by Bill Mundy
  • Richard & Maria Cosway - by Stephen Lloyd
  • The Techniques of Painting Miniatures - by Sue Burton
  • Timeless Treasures VHS/ DVD Video presentation from Miniature Art Society of Florida - Doris M. Liverman and Kay Petryszak
  • The Way How to Lymne - by Jim Murrell
  • The World of Nature in Miniature; Paintings by Wes & Rachelle Siegrist* - by Wes Siegrist
  • Wallace Collection Catalogue of Miniatures - by Graham Reynolds
  • The Siegrist Collection also includes hundreds of digital books, newspaper articles and exhibition catalogs

* Features/Includes Siegrist Miniature Paintings

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Online Links for Miniature Art

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