BIRMINGHAM.- The intricate world of portrait miniatures is re-examined in Pocket-sized Power: A Feminist History of Portrait Miniatures, a new online exhibition, devised in partnership with Victoria and Albert Museum, London (V&A), that places women at the centre of artistic production, patronage and representation.

Bringing together works from the V&A, the Barber Institute of Fine Arts, and private collections, the exhibition spans more than 400 years of the portrait miniature. It challenges the longstanding perception of miniatures as less-important artworks, revealing instead their powerful role in networks of gender, class, empire and artistic labour.

Small, yet highly significant, portrait miniatures functioned as jewellery, keepsakes, diplomatic gifts and symbols of status. Intimate and portable, they conveyed identity, memory and influence across social and political networks. Pocket-sized Power demonstrates how these objects became important sites of visibility, self-fashioning and agency for women.

The exhibition highlights remarkable figures such as Sarah Biffin (1784 – 1850), who, born without limbs, painted using her mouth, and rose from fairground performer to Royal Academy exhibitor and royal portraitist; Penelope Carwardine (1729 – 1804), who used miniature painting to support her family financially; and Anne Mee (1765 – 1851), one of the most successful Georgian miniaturists, who achieved professional and commercial success.





Alongside these stories, the exhibition examines the relationship between portrait miniatures and the British Empire. From around 1700, miniatures were generally painted on ivory, a material connected to imperial trade networks, including those of the British East India Company. Works by artists such as Diana Hill (1760 – 1844) and Charlotte Martner (1781 – 1839), meanwhile, reveal how miniatures circulated between Britain and its imperial territories, notably India and the West Indies, carrying both intimate and political meanings.

The role of women as patrons and sitters is also central. Portraits of figures including Lady Barber and Queen Victoria demonstrate how women used miniatures to shape their identities or assert authority. By bringing together these diverse histories and voices, Pocket-sized Power reframes miniature portraiture as a dynamic and influential art form.

Pocket-sized Power has been curated by Masters’ students in Art History and Curating at the University of Birmingham and is the Barber Institute’s primary in-house curatorial project for 2026, while the Grade-1 listed building is closed for a transformation project.

Robert Wenley, the Barber Institute’s Deputy Director (Collections and Research), said: “I’d like to commend the students for seizing the opportunity to produce a novel, but timely, take on this sophisticated and refined artform, and for working so well together to research, plan and deliver the exhibition. I hope it will encourage broader engagement nationally and internationally with this material, as well as providing new angles of interest with those already familiar with the genre.”

Jennifer Powell, Director of the Barber, added: “At the Barber Institute of Fine Arts, we are committed to presenting exhibitions that combine fascinating research with fresh, engaging narratives. Pocket-sized Power exemplifies this approach. We are honoured to collaborate with the Victoria and Albert Museum for the third time on this curatorial project with our MA students.”