On a recent trip to the Phoenix Art Museum, I attended a docent-guided tour of the Thorne Miniature Rooms Exhibit. While the largest collection (68) of these fascinating miniature rooms is housed at the Art Institute of Chicago, the Phoenix Art Museum has an impressive collection of twenty rooms. The tour provides a wealth of information, illuminating the life of Mrs. James Ward Thorne, whose passion for miniatures has left us with an enchanting and captivating legacy. These special rooms provide a glimpse into a world of beautiful historical interiors, delighting and, at the same time, educating. Fans of art, architecture, dollhouses, or just an appreciation of fine craftsmanship will enjoy this wonderful exhibit.
Above: Two of the rooms from the Phoenix Art Museum Collection (French and Italian Dining Rooms). Each room is historically accurate for the time period it portrays and is created in an exacting 1:12 scale (1 inch in the miniature room is the equivalent of 1 foot in real life). Lovingly and painstakingly hand-crafted, the rooms include such details as hand- carved wood paneling and furnishings, petit point rugs and tapestries, decorative plaster, wallpapers, hinged cabinet doors, and even some books which are bound and open with fully-turning pages inside.
Mrs. Narcissa Niblack Thorne (1882-1966), married to James Ward Thorne (an heir to the Montgomery Ward department store fortune), began extensively collecting miniatures during her travels, and her passion for these beautiful collectibles translated into the treasured models on display today. Between 1932 and 1940 Mrs. Thorne employed craftsman in her Chicago studio, commissioned architects to create historically accurate settings, and had textiles and carpets made by the Needlework Guild of Chicago to be featured in her rooms. The works depict interiors from Europe, Asia and North America from the late 13th to the early 20th century. Her rooms were displayed in several World’s Fairs and at various Expositions.
Author Marianne Malone has written several children’s books featuring the Thorne rooms (http://www.mariannemalone.com/index.html). The first in the series is entitled The Sixty-Eight Rooms, a fantasy for children grades 4-6. The Sixty-Eight Rooms is available at the Phoenix Art Museum gift shop and also at Amazon.com (Amazon also carries the other two books in the series). A trip to the museum to view the miniature rooms with children this age can be an extra special event by treating them to lunch in the Museum Café and presenting them with a gift of the book. What a great way to make a life-long memory!
I highly recommend a tour of this exhibit, whether in Phoenix, Chicago or the Knoxville Museum of Art, which houses nine models. If you are unable to visit a museum exhibit, there are many websites available on-line with video slideshows which will show the captivating and charming detail and precision in the Thorne Miniature Rooms. They are truly amazing!