past exhibition

Intimate Keepsakes: American Portrait Miniatures, A Gift From Charles A. Gilday

March 17–December 18, 2018

2016.24.12_05-copy-1

Mary Elizabeth Lalanne (1815–1836), Mrs. Samuel Whitwell (detail), about 1835, watercolor on ivory, modern frame, 41⁄8 x 31⁄8 in., signed lower left: Lalanne, Gift of Charles A. Gilday, 2016.24.12.

 

In 2017, Charles Gilday, a noted collector and independent scholar, gave the Currier more than 25 American portrait miniatures dating from the 1770s to the 1930s. This important gift introduces this unique art form into the Currier’s strong American holdings. These delicate portraits – some measuring little more than an inch in length – are rendered in watercolor on thin slices of translucent ivory. Miniatures were often housed in gilt cases, some with plaits of the loved one’s hair. The exotic, fragile materials of miniatures enhanced their cherished associations.

The exhibition is accompanied by a catalogue with more information on artists, sitters and the business of painting miniatures. Explore the catalogue online today.

 

past exhibitions

Archived material on past exhibitions can be explored further here, and recent past exhibition catalogues are available through the museum shop.

artist in residence

Our Artist-in-Residence (AIR) program invites artists to live and work at the museum. While in residence, artists consider the collection and community, and refresh our perspectives on the role of the museum. The program is central to the Currier Museum’s mission of connecting our audiences with art and creative thinking, whether of the past or the future. We hope to learn from our visiting artists – and be surprised by their perspectives.

Artists working in all media participate in the AIR program, which has three main components: 1) an open call to support emerging artists making socially engaged art; 2) an invitational through which artists are selected to develop special projects, commissions, or exhibitions; and 3) artist-led, community-centered public art projects in the city of Nashua, NH.

 

Open Call for Artist in Residence Applications

Our annual open call is currently live from October 1 – December 1, 2022. Artists who share the museum’s goal of positively impacting communities through the transformative power of art are encouraged to apply to this residency.

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