Image: Phoenix Art Museum
'The Collection: Thorne Miniature Rooms' is an ongoing installation located in the Ballinger Wing of Phoenix Art Museum, where the rooms have been on view since 1962.
The rooms were conceived, designed, and in large part crafted by Narcissa Niblack Thorne (1882–1966). An Indiana native, Thorne began collecting miniature furniture and household accessories during travels to England and Asia shortly after the turn of the 20th century. Beginning in 1930, she commissioned interior scenes to contain her growing collection of miniature objects.
Created at an exacting scale of one inch to one foot, the rooms include several that replicate actual spaces found in the United States and Europe. The remainder were inspired by the architecture and interior design of their respective periods and countries.
Among the presentation’s works is Narcissa Niblack Thorne’s ‘French Directoire Room,’ depicting a 1795–1799 interior and dated 1932–1937. The work is identified as a miniature room in the collection’s presentation.
The rooms are minuscule replications of spaces found across the United States and Europe that have been painstakingly preserved for nearly a century.
