Salon or reception room (from Wilton House designed 
by Inigo Jones, Italian influence in architecture
and design, 1625­50)
c. 1930­40
Mixed media
41.3 x 62.2 x 48.9 cm
Gift of Mrs. James Ward Thorne, 1941.1188

The Art Institute has sixty-eight miniature rooms by Mrs. James Ward Thorne. “When I visited Wilton, I was deeply impressed by the magnificence of these royal apartments,” wrote Mrs. Thorne, of rooms in the great house designed for Philip, fourth Earl of Pembroke, by the architect Inigo Jones. Jones brought to the design of Wilton influences he had absorbed as a student in Italy. In this miniature, Mrs. Thorne combined features of several lavish rooms at Wilton. What piece of furniture do you like best?