Smaller works of art draw the viewer in. There’s no standing back to see the whole image. Details emerge. You’ll want to step closer to get a better look.
"Public Good" by David Opdyke 12" x 12" x 6"
Some smaller pieces of art were never meant to hang on a wall. In fact, many have been created for the eyes of a loved one only. This velvet-lined self-portrait is pocket-sized. It was painted on ivory in 1828 by Sarah Goodridge, for her the man in her life—the famous American statesman Daniel Webster.
Beauty Revealed, Sarah Goodridge, Watercolor on ivory, 2 5/8" x 3 1/8"
Daniel Webster, looking cranky despite the pretty picture in his pocket. Stock Montage/Hulton Archive/Getty Images
Other less intimate but equally diminutive pieces work quite nicely on a bookshelf. This one—a 4″-square landscape from New Zealand—graces mine:
4"-square landscape painting by New Zealand artist Lianne Adams-Tull on bookshelf
Some smaller pieces of art really need to be seen on the wall to get their full effect. Look at this close-cropped portrait of Robert De Niro on Zatista’s virtual room to see the great impact even the most diminutive portrait can have:
Heat 2, by Michael Davis, Acrylic, 9.8 ” x 7.9 ”
(Coincidentally, De Niro’s father, Robert De Niro, Sr. was a famous abstract expressionist painter.)
If you like the idea of famous people in small packages, there’s a show of Polaroids shot by Andy Warhol from the 70’s and 80’s of legendary athletes (Pelé, Dorothy Hamill, and Muhammad Ali, to name a few) at Danziger Projects in New York City through December 12.
What tiny works of art appeal to you?
love the danzinger stuff. heat… didn’t like the movie, but the painting is great!