THE LIMNER COMPANY was established in 2023 by leading portrait miniatures consultant Emma Rutherford. We are a group of specialists who work together researching and selling antique portrait miniatures.
We hope to bring portrait miniatures to a wider audience with our social media and e-newsletter, sharing the latest research and exhibitions, and a carefully curated selection of original works for sale.
We are based in London, UK, and we work with clients both nationwide and internationally.
Our expertise also includes conservation and framing. Find out about the services we offer here.
Find our social links and newsletter sign-up at the bottom of this page.

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Emma Rutherford

DIRECTOR

Emma Rutherford

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Emma Rutherford

Emma Rutherford is a freelance art historian specialising in portrait miniatures and silhouettes. Her clients include Philip Mould & Co., the National Portrait GalleryNational Trust and a number of major institutions nationwide.

Emma has close working relationships with museum and gallery curators, as well as conservators and restorers. She has conducted many significant private and public valuations and private treaty sales. She has also made several television appearances and advises the Antiques Roadshow.

Emma began her career working in the Victoria and Albert Museum whilst completing an MA in Victorian Art and Architecture. She set up the Portrait Miniatures Department at Phillip's Auctioneers and after the amalgamation of Phillips and Bonhams she became Departmental Director. During her time in the auction world, Emma sourced and handled the Albion Collection.

From 2007 to December 2022, Emma ran a portrait miniatures consultancy at Philip Mould & Co., London. Emma curated and co-curated many exhibitions of portrait miniatures at the gallery, most recently “Without Hands”; The Art of Sarah Biffin (1 November - 21 December 2022). Other exhibitions with Philip Mould & Co. include Love’s Labour’s Found (2021), Jewel in the Hand; Early Portrait Miniatures from Private and Noble Collections (2019), Charles Dickens, The Lost Portrait (2018/19), John Smart; A Genius Magnified (2014), Warts and All; The Portrait Miniatures of Samuel Cooper (2013) and Secret Faces (2008).

Emma's significant discoveries include a cabinet portrait of Arbella Stuart by Nicholas Hilliard, signed portrait of King of France Henri III by Jean Decourt in 2020; the earliest known European portrait miniature of a black sitter, a portrait of Prince Zaga Christ by Giovanni Garzoni in 2019, now at the Allen Memorial Art Museum; and a lost portrait miniature of Charles Dickens in 2017, now at the Charles Dickens Museum.

In 2023, Emma established The Limner Company. She hopes to bring portrait miniatures to a wider audience, sharing the latest research and exhibitions, and a carefully curated selection of original works for sale.

Emma is a member of the specialist British Art Network and a trustee for The Drug of Art charity.

Emma’s publications are listed below.
Contact Emma: +44(0)7983510056 | emma@portraitminiature.com

publications

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MEYER'S MINIS; BIG IN LONDON

Edited by Evamarie Blattner and Wiebke Ratzeburg, with a chapter by Emma Rutherford titled, ‘London Calling’ 2024

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'A NEWLY DISCOVERED CABINET MINIATURE BY NICHOLAS HILLIARD' THE BURLINGTON MAGAZINE, NO. 1453 - VOL. 166, APRIL 2024

by Elizabeth Goldring and Emma Rutherfor

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“WITHOUT HANDS”: THE ART OF SARAH BIFFIN

By Ellie Smith, Emma Rutherford, November 2022

The catalogue for the exhibition at Philip Mould & Co. 1 November - 21 December 2022.

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LOVE'S LABOUR'S FOUND; ELIZABETHAN & JACOBEAN PORTRAITURE

by Emma Rutherford, Lawrence Hendra, 2021

The catalogue for the exhibition at Philip Mould & Co. 21 April - 29 May 2021.

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‘AN ENGLISH ARTIST AT THE VALOIS COURT: A PORTRAIT OF HENRI III BY NICHOLAS HILLIARD’, THE BURLINGTON MAGAZINE, NO. 1391 – VOL. 161, FEBRUARY 2019

by William Aslet, Lucia Burgio, Céline Cachaud, Alan Derbyshire, Emma Rutherford

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JEWEL IN THE HAND; EARLY PORTRAIT MINIATURES FROM NOBLE AND PRIVATE COLLECTIONS

by William Aslet, Lawrence Hendra, Rebecca Ingram, Emma Rutherford, with essays by Susan North and Jonathan Page, 2019

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CHARLES DICKENS: THE LOST PORTRAIT

by Emma Rutherford, Lawrence Hendra, Lucinda Dickens Hawksley, Louisa Price, 2018

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A REGENCY BUCK: ADAM BUCK

by Peter Darvall, Jon Whiteley, with an introduction by Emma Rutherford, 2015

The first ever monograph of the Irish born Regency-era miniaturist and artist, Adam Buck. This publication accompanied an exhibition at the Ashmolean Museum, ‘An Elegant Society: Adam Buck, artist in the age of Jane Austen’.

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JOHN SMART: A GENIUS MAGNIFIED

by Emma Rutherford, Lawrence Hendra, Lindsay Stainton, Haydn Williams, 2014

The catalogue for the exhibition at Philip Mould & Co. in 2014.

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WARTS AND ALL; THE PORTRAIT MINIATURES OF SAMUEL COOPER

by Emma Rutherford, edited by Dr Bendor Grosvenor, 2013
The exhibition catalogue for the exhibition at Philip Mould & Co. in 2013.

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SILHOUETTE: THE ART OF THE SHADOW

by Emma Rutherford, with a foreword by Lulu Guinness, 2009

This first major work on the art of the silhouette, draws from dozens of American and European sources to create a fascinating history of the art form and to illuminate the compelling social history hidden behind its shadows.

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Rebecca Ingram

FREELANCE RESEARCHER 
& DIGITAL MANAGER

Rebecca Ingram

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Rebecca Ingram

Following an undergraduate degree in Art History, Rebecca began her career at Philip Mould & Co. where she held the positions of Gallery Assistant and Online Manager from 2014 to 2018. It was at Philip Mould & Co. that she met Emma and developed an interest in portrait miniatures.

Rebecca set-up Emma’s website and Instagram account in 2018, which she has been running ever since, blending her own research with Emma’s.

In 2019, Rebecca worked closely with Emma designing and researching Philip Mould & Co.’s exhibition, ‘Jewel in the Hand: Portrait Miniatures from Noble and Private Collections’. Shortly afterwards Rebecca joined The Goldsmiths’ Company as Collections Assistant.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Rebecca left the Goldsmiths’ to join her family’s farm business. She now works part-time with The Limner Company as a freelance researcher and digital manager.

Contact Rebecca: rebecca@portraitminiature.com
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Alan Derbyshire

CONSERVATION CONSULTANT

Alan Derbyshire

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Alan Derbyshire

Alan is director of Alan Derbyshire Art Conservation Ltd., specialising in the conservation of portrait miniatures and works of art on paper. He works for various dealers, private collectors as well as many institutions around the world.

Previously, Alan worked at the Victoria and Albert Museum. He joined as a Paper Conservator in 1983 and became Head of Paper, Books and Paintings Conservation, a position he held until leaving in 2020.

Alan featured in the 2020 BBC series, 'A Very British Renaissance’, available to view online here. In the programme, Alan talks to Dr James Fox about the remarkable techniques of Elizabethan miniaturist, Nicholas Hilliard.

From 2017-2019 Alan was External Examiner for the Masters degree in Conservation of Fine Art, University of Northumbria, Newcastle.

In 2018, Alan was awarded the Plowden Medal for significant contribution to the advancement of the conservation profession and in particular, to the field of paper conservation and the conservation of portrait miniatures. Alan was interview by The Art Newspaper following the award.

Enquire about conservation services by contacting Alan directly:
+44 (0)7932031660 | alanderbyshire@hotmail.co.uk
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Emma

FREELANCE RESEARCHER

Emma

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Emma

Emma graduated with a degree in History in the summer of 2023, having specialised in visual culture and the Northern Renaissance. In the winter of the same year, she began her career as an Intern in the Old Master’s department at Sotheby’s. 

Following an Internship at Philip Mould & Company, she met Emma and began as a freelance researcher for The Limner Company. She also works part-time as a cataloguing and research assistant for Charles Beddington Ltd. 

While at The Limner Company, Emma has helped with the preparation for Compton Verney’s Reflected Self: Portrait Miniatures 1540-1850, as well as the 2024 Summer and Winter London Art Weeks.