Mae Olson

1906

Eda Nemoede Casterton was one of many women artists active in the miniature revival. She belonged to professional organizations, exhibited widely in Paris and throughout America, and taught the craft at the Art Institute of Chicago. Many revival miniatures, including this one, emulated contemporary trends in full-scale oil painting, especially the fashionable, high-society portraiture by artists such as James McNeill Whistler and John Singer Sargent. Such influences are evident in this work’s virtuoso brushwork, elaborate setting, and air of elegance.