I first learned about Eulabee Dix at the National Museum of Women in the Arts. I was enchanted with her miniature portraits, particularly with the painting of the baby pictured above.
Born in 1878, Dix began painting in her teens. She completed her last painting in 1958. Miniature paintings were experiencing a revival during her youth, and most of her work was in this area. At her peak, she painted famous people like Ethel Barrymore and Mark Twain. Unfortunately, her career was affected by a string of misfortunes, beginning with the 1929 stock market crash. Fewer people could afford to commission her, and miniature portraits fell out of style. She participated in the war efforts during World War II, which gave her less time to paint. Sometime after the war, her eyesight began to affect her work. She had to abandon at least two paintings during the 1950s due to poor eyesight.
I would find Dix’s portraits attractive even if they were much larger, but a lot of the charm is their size. There have been many successful miniature painters over the centuries, but I’m still in awe of anyone who can paint details such as lace on such a tiny scale. Maybe this is why her work has stuck with me since I first saw it more than 20 years ago.
You can view a lot of Dix’s work online, but there’s nothing like seeing it in person. If you can make it to D.C., I recommend a trip to the National Museum of Women in the Arts, not only to see Dix’s paintings but also to take in the museum as a whole. According to Wikipedia, there are at least two other places in D.C. where you can find work by Dix: the National Museum of American Art and the National Portrait Gallery. The Wikipedia entry also says that you can find some of her work at the Met in New York City and Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga in Lisbon.
