Chats on Old Miniatures

The book offers a practical and historical survey of portrait miniature painting, opening with advice on collecting and conservation before tracing origins and painting methods, including enamel techniques. It then provides illustrated studies of prominent practitioners from early Holbein-influenced work through Hilliard, the Olivers, Hoskins, Samuel Cooper, Petitot, Cosway and other Georgian artists, assessing artistic styles and attributions. Later chapters describe notable private and public collections and conclude with the author's impressions of a recent exhibition of eighteenth-century miniatures. A bibliography and numerous illustrations support the text.