Michael's Museum

Antique miniature portraits of the Tormey-Holder Collection

Curious about what's new to the website, but don't want to have to explore every page to find out? Visit our News and New Additions page to get the latest...

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As any collector of miniature portraits can relate, I am often asked how I came to learn about miniature portraits and what inspired me to begin collecting them...

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He was foreign-born and foreign-buried, but Joseph Dunckerley left a legacy of American greatness, and he remains one of the most celebrated of early American miniature painters...

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Biographical article on Ebenezer Mack, early American miniature portrait painter

A must read for fans of early Americana, this article sheds light on the life and times of the important early American miniaturist, Ebenezer Mack, whose story remained elusive for two centuries...

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Biographical article on Pierre Henri, early American miniature portrait painter

He survived a shipwreck en route to America, and he initially struggled in New York and Philadelphia, but Peter Henri ultimately became one of the most highly regarded French immigrant painters...

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Biographical article on Nathaniel Hancock, early American miniature portrait painter

The body of scholarship about Nathaniel Hancock's life and career has long been lacking, but renewed research has uncovered a wealth of information about the early American painter...

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Biographical article on Philippe R. Vallée (often erroneously confused with Jean François Vallée), early American miniature portrait painter/artist

Their separate identities have for nearly two centuries been conflated; and the history of and most works of Philippe R. Vallée have mistakenly been attributed to Jean François Vallée....

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Biographical article on William Lewis, 19th century American miniature portrait painter/artist

He seems to have lived an anonymous, perhaps even unremarkable life. Lewis was nonetheless both an accomplished and prolific artist; and examples of his distinctive and characterful portraits...

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His origins remain unknown, but new information has come to light documenting Mynerts' 2-decade-long career, as he traveled throughout the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic U.S...

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He spent several decades plying his trade as a miniature portrait painter in Philadelphia; yet, to date, very little information has been published about Christopher Greiner's life and work....

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Biographical article on Arthur Denoon Young (often erroneously said to be Andrew Denoon Young), 19th century English miniature portrait painter/artist

Despite being the talented Victorian Era painter that he was, the story of Arthur Denoon Young was, sadly, long swept under the rug of history, as his identity was mistakenly conflated with...

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Biographical article on Isaac Wane Slater (often confused with his brother, Joseph Slater, and conflated into the erroneous persona of Joseph W. Slater), 19th century English miniature portrait painter/artist

For nearly two centuries, there has been much confusion in art circles regarding the Slater family of artists and, in particular, the life and work of Isaac Wane Slater...

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