Margaret Turner Hicks (September 28, 1923 – August 3, 2006) was a world-renowned producer and promoter of

Miniature Art Miniature art includes paintings, engravings and sculptures that are very small; it has a long history that dates back to prehistory. The portrait miniature is the most common form in recent centuries, and from ancient times, engraved gems, of ...

. Favoring representational art, Hicks painted

landscapes A landscape is the visible features of an area of Terrestrial ecoregion, land, its landforms, and how they integrate with Nature, natural or man-made features, often considered in terms of their aesthetic appeal.''New Oxford American Dictionar ...

and

still lifes A still life (plural: still lifes) is a work of art depicting mostly inanimate subject matter, typically commonplace objects which are either natural (food, flowers, dead animals, plants, rocks, shells, etc.) or man-made (drinking glasses, boo ...

and the occasional

portrait A portrait is a portrait painting, painting, portrait photography, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expressions are predominant. The intent is to display the likeness, Personality type ...

, using small brushes and a magnifying glass to achieve a high level of detail in paintings that were often just 2 to 4 inches wide. Hicks often lectured on Miniature Art and was President of the Miniature Painters, Sculptors and Gravers Society of Washington from 1983 to 1988. In 1993 she published a

miniature book A miniature book is a very small book. Standards for what may be termed a miniature rather than just a small book have changed through time. Today, most collectors consider a book to be miniature only if it is 3 inches or smaller in height, wid ...

on the topic — measuring just 2 7/8 by 2 5/8 inches — called ''Art in Miniature''. As a collector of miniature books, Hicks "felt it would make a lot of sense" to do a miniature book on art in miniature. The book covers small-scale painting, sculpture, and engraving. All proceeds from the book went to a scholarship program for Washington DC high school students planning to study art. Hicks' paintings and other artwork were exhibited in Washington and Baltimore,

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

, and at the U.S. Embassy in

Gambia The Gambia,, ff, Gammbi, ar, غامبيا officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa. It is the smallest country within mainland AfricaHoare, Ben. (2002) ''The Kingfisher A-Z Encyclopedia'', Kingfisher Publicatio ...

. Several of her pieces were among the more than 500 works in an international exhibition of miniature art she helped organize at the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...

's S. Dillon Ripley Center in 2004. Margaret Turner Hicks was born in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

. She graduated from

Temple University Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public state-related research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist minister Russell Conwell and his congregation Grace Baptist Church of Philadelphia then called Ba ...

and went on to study art in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

while her husband (now-retired Army Col. Stanford R. Hicks) was posted overseas. She also taught elementary school and tutored soldiers before becoming a full-time artist in 1968, a year after the couple settled in

Washington, DC ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan ...

. Hicks was an active leader in her community: President of The American Art League in Washington, member of the Arts club of Washington, Arts for Aging, The Miniature Art Society of Washington and other arts and civic groups. In addition to miniature art, she also made jewelry and clothing; her sweaters were known to be especially elaborate. She died of cancer on August 3, 2006.

''"There is something fascinating about the exquisite art of miniature painting. The skill of the artist, reflected in the detail and delicate quality of the painting, reveals a world view often overlooked, except by those who take the time to see." — Margaret Hicks, artist's statement''

References

1
Washington Post Obituary
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External links

World Federation of Miniaturists
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hicks, Margaret 20th-century American painters 21st-century American painters 1923 births 2006 deaths American women painters 20th-century American women artists 21st-century American women artists