A3: Massachusetts Dining Room, 1720 c. 1940

This miniature Massachusetts Dining Room from 1720 was made by Narcissa Niblack Thorne at an unknown date. It's made using wood, fabric, and various materials for the furnishings, all on a scale of one inch to one foot. I love how Thorne uses this limited palette of whites, yellows, and browns to create a really specific mood. There's something about the way the light hits the miniature wood that feels so real. It’s like she’s not just building a room, she’s creating a memory, a moment frozen in time. If you look closely, you can see these tiny details, like the plates on the shelf or the weave of the rug. It's amazing how much information she packs into such a small space. You can almost imagine people sitting there, having a meal, sharing stories. It reminds me a bit of Charles Simonds' miniature dwellings, how they create these whole worlds in miniature that feel both familiar and strange. These works are really about the way we build meaning through the things we surround ourselves with.