Annie R. Merrylees Arnold facts for kids

Annie R. Merrylees Arnold (born Annie Russell Merrylees, December 19, 1866 – September 5, 1959) was a British artist. She was known for painting tiny, detailed pictures called miniatures and worked in Scotland.

Life of a Miniature Painter

Annie Merrylees was born in Birkenhead, England, in 1866. She loved art and studied in Edinburgh, Scotland. First, she went to the School of Art, where she learned from Mr. Hodder. Later, she studied with Robert Macgregor. She even traveled to Paris, France, to learn from another famous artist, Jean-Joseph Benjamin-Constant.

Annie believed that even though she painted small miniatures, it was important for artists to sometimes create bigger, bolder artworks. This helped them keep their skills sharp and their art fresh.

She didn't originally plan to paint miniatures. A lady who admired her work asked her to try it because she couldn't find anyone else who painted them. This lady even gave Annie a magazine called Girl's Own Paper which had instructions on how to paint miniatures! Annie decided to give it a try, and that's how she started her career in this special art form.

Annie painted many important people. Some of her famous works include a miniature of Lady Evelyn Cavendish, which is now owned by the Marquis of Lansdowne. She also painted the Earl and Countess of Mar and Kellie. One of these paintings is now part of the Royal Scottish Academy collection. Other notable miniatures include those of Lady Helen Vincent and Edith Phillips. She also created art for important families in Baltimore and Washington, D.C. in the United States.

Her beautiful miniatures were shown in art exhibitions at the Royal Academy of Arts in London. For example, in 1903, she showed miniatures of Miss M. L. Fenton, Mrs. Cameron Corbett, and the Hon. Thomas Erskine.

Annie married Reginald E. Arnold, who was a sculptor. He passed away in 1938. Annie lived to be 92 years old and passed away in Ascot, England, in 1959.

Selected Works

• Dorothy Girt in Barnard
• Lady Helen Vincent
• A Little Flower of France
• Miss Mischief

Images for kids

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  Annie R. Merrylees painted these miniatures of Archibald and Alice Cameron Corbett on ivory.