miniature rooms

In a special wing of the Art Institute of Chicago, as well as the Phoenix Museum of Art, there are several exhibitions of incredibly detailed miniature rooms. These rooms, measuring 25 x 30 cm, depict the architecture and interior of real rooms in the USA, Asia and Europe, dating from the end of the 13th century to the beginning of the 20th century, to the smallest detail. The rooms were designed by Narcissa Niblack Thorne (1882-1966). She had Native American roots and began collecting miniature furniture and household items while traveling through Europe and the Far East. Inspired by the famous interior rooms she had seen in major museums beginning in 1930, Thorne began compiling her own collection of mini-rooms. Many of the rooms even have carpets that Thorne wove herself.

(Total 16 photos)

1. Thorne's best work illustrates high-end room interiors from homes in England, the US and France. Photo: model of a dining room in a Virginia home, ca. 1800

2. These rooms are made to the smallest detail, and if you need to make a "repair", it is carried out with the help of tiny tongs and cotton swabs. Pictured: Dining room in a New Mexico house, ca. 1940.

3. Although the rooms took a lot of time and money to create, Thorne never specifically sought funds to create them. In the photo: the lobby of a house in Tennessee, 1835.

4. After her husband's death in 1946, Thorne was left with an estate worth up to $2 million, allowing her to devote herself entirely to her hobby. In the photo: a kitchen in a Virginia house, 18th century.

5. However, the lack of skillful hands forced her to deal with dioramas and shadow boxes on her own. Photo: living room in a house in Virginia, 1754.

6. When an entire gallery was opened at the Art Institute in 1954 for Thorne's mini-rooms, she opened a charitable foundation to raise funds to hire workers. Photo: dining room in a house in Maryland, 1770-1774.

7. However, due to poor health, she was forced to close her studio in March 1966. She donated her work to a charitable foundation. In the photo: living room in a house in Shaker, ca. 1800

8. Narcissa Niblack Thorne died the same year in Chicago. Photo: living room in a house in New York, 1850-1870.

9. Most of Thorne's work is exhibited at the Art Institute in Chicago - 68 rooms. Photo: living room in a house in Pennsylvania, 1834-1836.

10. In total, Thorne completed almost a hundred rooms. In the photo: a bedroom in a house in New England, 1750-1850.

11. 20 of the first 30 rooms were donated to the Phoenix Museum of Art in 1962 and have been there ever since. Photo: living room in a house in Kay Cod, 1750-1850.

12. Other examples of her work can be found at the Knoxville Museum of Art, the Indianapolis Children's Museum, the Los Angeles Museum of Miniatures and the Albert Museum in London. In the photo: living room in a house in Rhode Island, ca. 1820

13. Dining room in a house in Massachusetts, 1795.

14. German living room in the Biedermeier style, 1815-1850.

15. French boudoir of the period of Louis XV, 1740-1760.

16. English main hall of the late Tudor period, 1550-1603.