Most Famous Dollhouses

Dollhouses are toys but some of them are really interesting. Not only because they were created for famous people but also because they are true pieces of art. We’ll talk about some of them here:

Titania's Palace was made by James Hicks & Sons - Irish Cabinet Makers between 1907 and 1922 for Sir Neville Wilkinson from Ireland and his daughter Guendolen. Palace has 18 rooms with furniture that was carved by hand. Palace also contains large number (over 3000) of miniature works of art collected from all over the world. In 1978, Titania’s Palace was bought on auction by Lego, and was displayed in Legoland, Denmark. From 2007 it is on the loan and displayed at Egeskov Castle in Denmark.

Tara's Palace is a successor of Titania’s Palace. Disappointed because he couldn’t return Titania’s Palace to Ireland, Ron McDonnell, head of the Irish Antique dealers association, decided to build Tara’s palace in 1978. It has 22 rooms and is inspired by three Great Irish Houses of the 18th century, Castletown House, Carton House and Leinster House. Miniature furniture was donated by friends and antique dealers. Palace is still work in progress and additions are still being carried out today.

Queen Mary's Dolls' House was made for Queen Mary, the wife of King George V as a gift to Queen from the people and completed in 1924. Dollhouse is over three feet tall and in 1:12 scale. Building of the house was initially idea of Princess Marie Louise who had many connections in the art world. That is why miniatures of the furniture and items are made with great skill. Many items of the house are miniaturized copies of the items from Windsor castle. It even has running water through its tiny pipes. It even has library with miniature written books some even by Rudyard Kipling.

Colleen Moore's Fairy castle was designed by actress Colleen Moore and finished in 1935. It is built to represent castle from fairytale. Dollhouse has Cinderella’s Drawing Room from which ceiling hangs golden chandelier decorated with emeralds and pearls and Weeping Willow in the Magic Garden that sheds real tears into a pool. It also has full electricity and running water. It is now at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago.

Stettheimer Dollhouse is made by Carrie Walter Stettheimer from 1916 to 1935. It has two-stories and twelve rooms and remarkable art collection donated by artist friends of Carrie like Marcel Duchamp, Alexander Archipenko, George Bellows, Gaston Lachaise, and Marguerite Zorach. They made tiny copies of their paintings and sculptures for the dollhouse. After Carrie’s death dollhouse was donated to Museum of the City of New York in 1945.

Thorne Rooms are literary rooms for dolls. They consist of ninety-nine detailed miniature rooms made by Mrs. Narcissa Niblack Thorne between 1932 and 1940each room has a different theme and they show way of life in Europe and America from 13th Century up to 1930. They are not in one place but are scattered among different museums such are the Art Institute of Chicago, Phoenix Art Museum and the Knoxville Museum of Art.