Miniatures on display. (photo from Herbert Hoover Library and Museum)
A big display of tiny works of art is now open as a temporary exhibit at the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum in West Branch.
Assistant curator Melanie Wier says the collection called “Exquisite Miniatures” features more than 60 watercolor paintings, all of which are about the size of an index card, measuring about three inches per side. “The detail on these paintings is just extraordinary,” Wier says, “so to get a better view of them in the exhibit, we have ten magnifying glasses so that visitors can see every single detail of the paintings.”
Wier says the collection includes an array of subjects, all created by a husband-and-wife artist team, Wes and Rachelle Siegrist, who live in Tennessee. “There are scenic views, there’s animals, there’s some portraits, there’s some self-portraits done by the artists,” Wier says, “and there’s even a few paintings of someone in a museum looking at paintings.”
While the paintings are very small, she says a gargantuan amount of effort goes into each one. “It’s very time-consuming and can be frustrating,” Wier says. “Because they work with watercolors, sometimes by the time they get the paintbrush from the paint to the easel, it’s already dried out.” While this exhibit might seem like an unusual choice for the museum dedicated to the only American president to call Iowa home, Wier says it’s right on the mark.
“The Hoovers were avid art collectors. Pretty much every trip they went on, and they were frequent travelers, they collected artwork on their travels,” Wier says. “They also enjoyed nature and were wildlife enthusiasts, so actually, it is a nice fit.” The exhibit will be on display at the facility through September 24th.