The Thorne miniature rooms are a set of approximately 100 miniature models of rooms created between 1932 and 1940 under the direction of Narcissa Niblack Thorne. Ninety-nine of the rooms are believed still to be in existence; the majority (68) are on display at the Art Institute of Chicago, while 20 are at the Phoenix Art Museum, nine at the Knoxville Museum of Art, and one each at The Children's Museum of Indianapolis and the Kaye Miniature Museum in Los Angeles. The Art Institute's rooms document European and American interiors from the late 13th century to the 1930s and the 17th century to the 1930s, respectively. Constructed on a 1:12 scale, the rooms are largely made of the same materials as full-sized rooms, and some even include original works of art.
Table in the 1760 New Hampshire dining room, Thorne miniature rooms at the Art Institute of Chicago
Chandelier detail, Thorne miniature rooms at the Art Institute of Chicago
Narcissa Niblack Thorne was an American artist known for her extremely detailed miniature rooms. Her works depict historical interiors from Europe, Asia and North America from the late 13th to the early 20th century. The Thorne rooms are honored with dedicated exhibits in the Phoenix Art Museum, the Knoxville Museum of Art, and the Art Institute of Chicago, where a special wing was built to house them.
Narcissa Niblack Thorne
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Tableau
English Dining Room of the Georgian Period (1937) - Art Institute of Chicago