HANCEVILLE, Ala. — The Evelyn Burrow Museum at Wallace State Community College welcomes EXQUISITE MINIATURES, an exhibition of miniature paintings by Wes and Rachelle Siegrest, to campus this spring from February – April. Admission is free.
EXQUISITE MINIATURES consists of 50 signature paintings including landscapes, portraits, still life, wildlife and other subjects by Wes and Rachelle Siegrist. The exhibition is accompanied by a book of the same title about Wes and Rachelle Siegrist and their art, with an introduction by David J. Wagner.
Miniature art has a long tradition in the history of art. The portrait miniature, which became popular among the elites in Europe during the Renaissance, could be seen as a predecessor to the photograph, an easily transportable and intimate memento of a loved one. However, the tradition includes illuminated manuscripts and other paintings, engravings and even sculptures that are very small, a form also employed around the time in Asia. Miniature painters could render entire epic scenes on a palm-sized canvas using brushes which might consist of a single hair.
“We are delighted to show this unique exhibition representing a contemporary approach to an important tradition in the history of art,” said Kristen Holmes, administrator of the Burrow Museum. Magnifying glasses will be available for close inspection of the artwork at the museum, or patrons are welcome to bring their own.
Dog commission in progress by Rachelle Siegrist 
Checking the Nets 
Sonoran Sunbather
Wes and Rachelle Siegrist are an American husband and wife team who mesmerize viewers with miniature paintings so exquisitely crafted that they are often mistaken for tiny photographs. Their tiny treasures, as collectors often refer to them, typically measure less than nine square inches and appear even more detailed when viewed under magnification. A hallmark of their work is their ability to convey the feeling of a larger canvass or the essence of the natural world in miniature.
Wes and Rachelle Siegrist are members of the Miniature Artists of America, the Miniature Art Society of Florida, the Miniature Painters, Sculptors & Gravers Society of Washington, D.C., the Cider Painters of America and the Hilliard Society of England. They are the authors of the world’s first standard definition of miniature art adopted by the Association of Miniaturist Artists. Small wonder, therefore, that the Siegrists have been referred to as “World Ambassadors for Miniature Art.”
EXQUISITE MINIATURES BY WES AND RACHELLE SIEGRIST first premiered at the prestigious R.W. Norton Art Gallery in Shreveport, LA, home to one of the great museum miniature collections in the United States in 2010 and has toured widely in the intervening years. EXQUISITE MINIATURES is produced by David J. Wagner, L.L.C., with company President David J. Wagner, Ph.D. serving as curator/tour director.
The Evelyn Burrow Museum is open Tuesday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. and Saturday from 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.
Please check the website for details and special operating hours at http://www.burrowmuseum.org/.
