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Francis Bacon by Nicholas Hilliard, 1578 showing details of the lip and right eye

Miniatures: seeing in detail

What I love about portraiture, however artfully constructed an image might be, is the sense of encounter with another human being. This encounter has been heightened for me in working on new interpretation for our Tudor and Jacobean miniatures collection. Independent portrait miniatures are one of the most intimate forms of art, designed to be ‘viewed ... in hand near unto the eye’ (Nicholas Hilliard). Usually painted on the reverse of a playing card (Fig.1), they were often mounted within a jewelled case they could be worn, carried in a pocket or kept for private display within the home. …

By Jane Eade, Former Associate Curator (16th Century Collections)

27 March 2013

Coco Chanel, 1935 by Man Ray Museum Ludwig Cologne, Photography Collections (Collection Gruber) © Man Ray Trust / ADAGP © Copy Photograph Rheinisches Bildarchiv Köln

Man Ray Portraits: the art of dressing for the camera

I’m leading a tour of the Man Ray Portraits exhibition on 16 May themed around all things sartorial. Of course, Man Ray is the creator of iconic portraits of two of the best known designers of the twentieth century: Coco Chanel and Elsa Schiaparelli, both of which feature in the exhibition. And Man Ray worked within the industry himself for a number of years, contributing his innovative Surrealist fashion photographs to magazines including Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar and the lesser known Charm, as Curator Terence Pepper discusses in the exhibition catalogue. More fundamentally however, details of dress are revealed throughout the exhibition to be instrumental in creating the arresting style of photographic portraiture that Man Ray is celebrated for.…

By Inga Fraser, Former Assistant Curator (Contemporary & 20th Century Collections)

20 March 2013

La-Doo-Ke-A, Buffalo Bull, a Grand Pawnee Warrior, Pawnee by George Catlin, 1832 © Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Joseph Harrison, Jr.

George Catlin: the curators’ view

The co-curators of the exhibition George Catlin, American Indian Portraits, Stephanie Pratt and Joan Carpenter Troccoli, discuss their work on the project together.…

By Stephanie Pratt and Joan Carpenter Troccoli, Co-curators of George Catlin, American Indian Portraits

06 March 2013