A Life in Miniature The life of Thomas E. Barratt was defined by the precision of the small scale. Born in England around 1814, he moved through a world that demanded intimacy in its portraiture. He was a miniaturist and portrait painter, a profession requiring a steady hand and a keen eye for the subtle nuances of human character. His career, which spanned the years between 1837 and 1854, was a quiet pursuit of likeness, capturing the essence of his subjects on surfaces as delicate as ivory. His work, such as the watercolor on ivory titled Mr. Drury, reveals a technical mastery of the medium…