The 36th Annual Miniatures Show

Miniature art has a long, rich history which is thought to have begun with the decoration of illuminated manuscripts and illustration of handwritten books, mainly of religious texts, though evidence of miniature portraits have been found and attributed to unknown artists as early as 250AD in Rome.

Over the centuries miniature art evolved from being a form of illustration to becoming a kind of portable imagery, in much the same way that we now use photography. Miniature art is also unique in that it was and is often used on objects, such as the Russian lacquer boxes that are beautiful examples of Russian miniature painting.

A miniaturist's unique skill was their ability to create tiny artworks with an incredibly high level of detail and realism.

The Council’s Miniature Art exhibition has its own rich history. Started in 1984 by gallery owner Becky Dietrich at “A Little Gallery” in Mont Alto Pennsylvania, the annual exhibit was graciously passed onto the Council For The Arts in 1996 when its' popularity caused it to outgrow its original gallery space.

Since that time, the show has grown significantly with the number of artists increasing from 24 to over 100, and the number of works exhibited from 81 in 1996, to 187 in 2019 - chosen from more than 300 entries! Prizes for the best works have been generously donated by Ludwig Jewelers in Chambersburg.

Each year the Miniature Art exhibition consistently attracts a regional audience to the Council, with a highlight being a visit by the chair of the Washington DC international miniature show, which shares many of the same artists with the Council.

Meet this years juror , Lillian Bayley Hoover

Lillian Bayley Hoover earned her BFA from the University of North Carolina, Asheville and her MFA from the Maryland Institute College of Art. She currently teaches drawing and painting courses at MICA and Towson University.
Recent solo exhibitions include Holding Space at Goya Contemporary (2018) and In This World at BlackRock Center for the Arts (2018). She has participated in group exhibitions at institutions such as Delaware Art Museum, American University Museum, Creative Alliance, School 33, and Aichi Prefectural Museum of Art (Aichi, Japan). Her work has appeared twice in New American Paintings and was selected for the cover of the 69th issue. 

Hoover has received fellowships to attend residencies at Vermont Studio Center, Alfred and Trafford Klots International Program for Artists, Monson Arts Center, and Virginia Center for the Creative Arts. Other honors include the Bethesda Urban Partnership’s Trawick Award, multiple Individual Artist Awards from the Maryland State Arts Council, the Bethesda Young Artist Painting Award, numerous selections as a semifinalist for Baltimore's Sondheim Prize, and a travel grant from Philadelphia’s Center for Emerging Visual Artists.