The origin of the portrait miniature
Miniatures were first painted to decorate and illustrate hand-written books. Indeed, the word 'miniature' comes fro…
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Portrait miniatures: Nicholas Hilliard & Isaac Oliver
From his workshop in Gutter Lane, London, Nicholas Hilliard painted both courtiers and other wealthy patrons.…
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Portrait miniatures: royal portraiture 1580-1625
Miniatures were particularly useful to the monarchy. They were small enough to be given personally, sometimes in a …
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Portrait miniatures: from John Hoskins to Samuel Cooper
We do not know who taught John Hoskins miniature painting. But, like Isaac Oliver's son Peter, he used real silver …
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Portrait miniatures: post-Restoration period
Samuel Cooper carried on his successful business in London even after the execution of Charles I in 1649. When Char…
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Portrait miniatures: Susannah-Penelope Rosse
These miniatures are a delightfully intimate record of the artist, her relations and friends. Susannah's father was…
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Portrait miniatures: painting on ivory
The first British artist to paint on ivory was Bernard Lens, in about 1707. At the same time that ivory replaced ve…
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Portrait miniatures: Bernard Lens
Bernard Lens was the leading miniaturist from 1710 to 1740. His main competitor in the market for small portraits w…
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Portrait miniatures: the 18th century
ARTISTS IN FOCUS A New Generation of Miniaturists In the early 18th century miniaturists had experimented with way…
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Portrait miniatures and the Royal Academy
In 1768 a group of London-based artists established the Royal Academy of Arts. At the Academy 's annual exhibitions…
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Portrait miniatures: India
In 1785 the miniaturists John Smart, Ozias Humphry and Diana Hill independently made the six-month voyage by boat t…
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Portrait miniatures: from Richard Cosway to Andrew Robertson
Around 1801 the young artist Andrew Robertson developed a new style of miniature painting that became the dominant …
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Portrait miniatures: the impact of photography
Photography, introduced in 1839, provided a wider public with affordable, accurate likenesses. Many miniaturists at…
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Portrait miniatures: materials & techniques
The first portrait miniatures were painted by artists trained to illustrate hand-written books. They used similar m…
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Portrait miniatures: settings & uses
No gold or jewelled lockets from Henry VIII's day survive and very few from Elizabeth I's. We have descriptions of …
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Portrait miniatures: other types of small portraiture
This section looks at four other small portrait types which competed successfully with the portrait miniature; so-c…
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Portrait miniatures: Common susceptibilities
Eighteenth and nineteenth century miniatures are usually painted in watercolour on ivory. Ivory is susceptible to c…
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Room 90a: Portrait Miniatures
The International Music and Art Foundation Gallery displays Miniature painting, a unique art form, with artists suc…
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Portrait miniatures: artist biographies A-E
Biographies A-E of British portrait minature artists.
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Portrait miniatures: artist biographies F-L
Biographies F-L of British portrait minature artists.
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Portrait minatures: artist biographies M-Z
Biographies M-Z of British portrait minature artists.
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Obituary of Carl Winter
Carl Winter (1906–66) was an art historian who specialised in the study of English watercolours and portrait miniatures. He joined the Victoria & Albert Museum in 1931 as Assistant Keeper in the Departments of Engraving, Illustration and Design, and of Paintings, becoming Deputy Keeper in 1945.
Thomas Hope & the Regency style
Thomas Hope (1769–1831) was influential as a designer, design reformer and collector. He was a collector on a grand scale and also an innovative designer of great genius who helped define what we understand as the Regency style.
The reconstruction of the materials and techniques of Nicholas Hilliard’s portrait miniatures
Hilliard is quite secretive about the painting of his 'artificial' rubies. Examination of the objects and reading of other treatises only partially reveal the technique. 
James 'Athenian' Stuart: The architect as landscape painter
For many visitors to the exhibition James 'Athenian' Stuart: the Rediscovery of Antiquity the surprise was not the quality of Stuart's lost buildings and interiors so much as the striking examples of his art as a painter.
The Rosalinde & Arthur Gilbert collection
The Rosalinde & Arthur Gilbert Collection of gold, silver, mosaics, gold boxes and enamel portrait miniatures was given to the nation by Sir Arthur Gilbert (1913–2001) in 1996. The collection was on display at Somerset House, London, from 2001 until 2008 when it was transferred to the V&A Museum, South Kensington, London.
British Design 1948–2012: Innovation in the Modern Age
31 March–12 August 2012
Showcasing over 300 British design objects, this exhibition celebrates the best of British post-war art and design from the 1948 ‘Austerity Games' to the summer of 2012.
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The Portrait Miniature in England
A fascinating account of the development of English miniature painting featuring masterpieces from the V&A's collection.
Buy nowEvent - Holbein to Hockney: Art in Britain at the V&A
Tue 22 January 2013 14:00
SHORT COURSE: Explore the rich and fascinating history of British art through examples held in the V&A’s unrivalled collection of paintings, drawings and prints.
