The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-05-27
MINIATURES ARE
 GROWING IN FAVOR Many Americans Winning Fame in Delicate Work FAD AMONG THE VEAL THY Miniature Painting Was Especially Popular In Colonial Days and Is
 Now Having Remarkable
 Revival.
BY FREDERIC ]. HAskIN.

MdIcid burNSt WHO was dIIerWdruS MTS. James P. Van Ness of Washington. It was done by James Poale in 1797, and is a fine example of the art that flour ished in America in colonial days, an art that was neglected for almost a century but which has recently been re- vived.
 Miniature painting, like the making
 of cloissonne, requires infinite patience and skill, but the fickleness of pub lie taste and not a dearth of capable artists, caused minia lures to become rare in America after the time of Malone and the Peales. Whom the miniature was the only portable likeness 1t was much in demand even by persons with little appreciation of art, but when the daguerreotype came Into fashion, inter est in miniatures waned, and 1t was not until some fifteen years ago that Amer
 ican families turned from the tinted
 photograph to real art. and made mar ket for the artists who paint upon ivory.
 As all art Is a luxury, artists are dependent upon wealth. To the great in crease in American fortunes, and the wider distribution of comfortable hvings,
 all art owes it's rapid advance In thls country. Miniature painting has made such strides within the last few years th4t 1t is estab blished upon firm basis, and will not again be dropped. A new avenue to success has been opened to artists, and they are not slow to take the fullest advantage of 1t.
 The vogue of modern American minia- lures began about ten years ago, al though a demand for such work had previously arisen among the wealthler and more highly cultured families. There are now a number of American artists who have won a place for themselves both at home and abroad in this held, anC in the opinion of critics the Ameri- can school of miniature painting is sec- ond to none. The old-fashioned minia- lures, as beautifully delicate as they were in execution were somewhat cramp- ed by formal rules as to the number of sttings required to paint portrait head, and as to the number of colofs allow able upon the palette. Modern Ameri- cans are unhampered by traditions and frae from conventions in pose and cos tune, as well as daring in the use of color. Their aim is to put upon ivory the same breadth of feeling that is put upon canvas by painters in oil, elim1nat- ing detail yet maintaining dignity and character. In the words Of prominent critic Americans do not believe that matching eyesight with magnify glasses is art The hold that technique may become finical when too delicate. With out running to cheap prettiness they seek to avoid severity.
 An organization that is doing much to promote the art of miniature painting in this country is the American Society of Miniature Painters which was founded in 1899 with l. A. Josephi. president, Laura Coombs Hills, vice president; Will liam J. Baer, secretary, and Mrs. Lucia Fuller, treasurer. Among the members of the organization at the time of it's founding were John A. McDougall, w. J. Whittimore, and Misses Alice Beckwith Lydia Field, Virginia Reynolds and Theodora Thayer Miss Thayer died re- gently after having won high honors The Philadelphia Society of Miniature Painters is another growing organization which has the same purposes. Misses Ellen Ahrens and Louisa Woods are among it's prominent members.
 William J. Baer turned to miniature painting at the request of a patron. He won bronze medal at Paris in 1900, and another at the Pan-Amerfcan exposition at Buffalo. I. A. Josephl has received honorable mention in Paris and a sil- yer medal at the Charleston exposition. he WOIhS ulItCl1y t1Ohi ndtulS WitnOul the aid of photography and his minia- lures are remarkable for 'carrying power" The likenesses may be seen across an ordinary room. Miss Hills who won prize at the Corcoran Art gallery, a medal at Paris In 1900, and one at I iffalo in 1902 is said by critics to un- derstand the emotion of color" She Is daring in it's use and has achieved notable results. Hrs. Lucia Fuller. who pva a modal n the I.nniGiana PuT- chase exposition, and who has created a reputation of definite quality, paints both portraits and imaginative figures
 Miss Alice Beckwith whose work is more impressionistic than that of the other American miniature painters re- ceved bronze medal at St. Louis and honorable mention at Buffalo. In her class are W. J. Whittimore, secretary of the Water Color society, as well as member of the Society of Miniature Painters. whose work Is devoted chiefly to children and figure compositions; Miss Lydia Emmett, who received honorable mention in Paris; Miss Lillian Bayliss ana Mrs. Sargent Kendall, who received honorable mention at Buffalo; Mrs. Kate Rogers Newell and Miss Rachael Wor- rall.
 Edward Green Malone was prominent as an early American miniature painter. He was the illegitimate son of John Malone of Newport, R. l., and was known by his mothers name until he secured the passage of an act in the legislature allowing him to assume that of his father. Malone, who was born in TIT and died in 1S07 first became in- terested in painting while watching scene painters in a Providence theatre. He studied in Boston and New York and then went to Charleston, and from there to Europe with Washington Allston. In London he made such an impression that Benjamin West, president of the Royal academy, urged him to remain in England, but he returned to Charleston an. achieved fame throughout this coun- try as a miniature painter. Ills close ap- plication to work undermined his health, and he died after making a voyage to the West Indies in an effort to recover.
 Malone had a talent for elevating character without destroying likeness, especially in male heads. His great grace of execution was recognized among ar- lists of Europe and America, and today his miniatures stand alone in compari- son with the work of his contemporaries anf successors. He drew with the ut most correctness and possessed an acute power of reading and delineating char aeter. fine delicate taste lent charm to his work, but hls pre-eminence was in coloring. Women never lost beauty under his hands. Malone miniatures are highly valued by families fortunate enough to possess them, and a few good specimens of his work are to be seen in the Boston museum and tho Philadel- phi1 Academy of Fine Arts. Two of his most beautiful female heads were of members of the Middleton family of South Carolina. They are well known through the enEravlngs "Egorla" and Annette" by John Cheney. Hhe oeea-