Micro Masterpieces Gallery
St. Augustine, Florida
Sharing the a gift shop with the Medieval Torture Museum, the Micro Masterpieces Gallery is another pet project of museum owner Eugene Grach. According to museum manager Lorrie Olin, Eugene began collecting these itty-bitty artworks many years ago. "There are only seven artists in the world who can do miniatures by hand," Lorrie said, "and Eugene knows three of them." They're Ukrainian, as is Eugene.
The artworks, each revealed under its own lighted microscope, include the world's smallest book, a portrait of William Shakespeare painted on a poppy seed, a fish as small as a grain of sand woven from human hair, and a caravan of camels threading its way through the eye of a needle. According to Lorrie, Eugene has amassed hundreds of these Lilliputian creations, and the Gallery displays 30 at a time, cycling in new examples frequently.
From the perspective of practicality, a collection of micro miniatures has to rank among the wisest of hobbies, while the collector who has to find space for his military tanks can only look on in envy.
Lorrie stressed that despite its proximity to the Medieval Torture Museum, there are no miniature medieval torture scenes in the Micro Masterpieces Gallery.