A3: Massachusetts Dining Room, 1720
c. 1940
Medium
Miniature room, mixed media
Dimensions
Scale 1 inch = 1 foot: 22.5 × 52.5 × 44.4 cm (8 7/8 × 20 11/16 × 17 1/2 in.); Interior, Scale 1 inch = 1 foot: 22.9 × 53.4 × 45.1 cm (9 × 21 × 17 3/4 in.)
Classification
miniature
Department
Applied Arts of Europe
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
45320
Art Historical Context
Step into the meticulously crafted world of Narcissa Niblack's *A3: Massachusetts Dining, 1720*, a exquisite miniature room from around 1940 now housed in the Art Institute Chicago's Department of Applied Arts of Europe Thorne, a pioneering miniaturist, created over 100 such rooms, capturing the essence of historical interiors with astonishing precision at a scale of 1 inch to 1 foot. This recreates a colonial New England dining space from 1720, evoking sturdy elegance of early American domestic life during the Georgian period. The room's mixed-media construction—featuring handcrafted furnitu...
About the Artist
Narcissa Niblack Thorne · 1882–1966
Narcissa Niblack Thorne (1882–1966) was born on May 2 in Vincennes, Indiana, the eldest child of William Niblack and Frances Caldwell Niblack. Her family relocated to Chicago during her childhood, where she received a patchwork education: homeschooled by a governess, public schooling from age eleven, private classes, and finishing at the elite Kenwood Institute in Hyde Park. Extensive family trave...