American society of miniature painters

A turn-of-the-century group of artists devoted to a highly exacting technique of ???painting in little???, members of ASMP were part of a backlash in art against the country???s fascination with technology and its devotion to 'large scale'. ASMP was founded by William Baer and Isaac Josephi in 1899 with a premier exhibition at Knoedler Galleries in New York. It was an attempt to counteract the ugliness and misery of the burgeoning industrial society. Members had renewed interest in handwork or crafts inspired by Englishmen John Ruskin and William Morris, founders of the Arts and Crafts movement in the late 19th Century. ASMP artists included William J. Whittemore, Eulabee Dix, Laura Coombs Hills, and Emily Drayton Taylor. Sources: www.artofwildlife.com/miniaturepaintings.html; David Dearinger, "Painting and Sculpture in the Collection of The National Academy of Design"; AskART database