cabinet picture

American  

noun

1. a small easel painting, usually under 3 feet (0.9 meters) in width and formerly exhibited in a cabinet or special room.

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Etymology

Origin of cabinet picture

First recorded in 1815–25

Example Sentences

At the Dublin Exhibition he was greatly struck by a little cabinet picture by an Anglo-German artist, one Webb, and was eager to secure it, though he objected to the price.

From John Forster by Fitzgerald, Percy Hethrington

Passing along the desolate streets, you glance in at an open door and see a most delightful cabinet picture of domestic life.

From Castilian Days by Hay, John

On the other hand, a "cabinet picture," a small panel, will admit of microscopic detail if it be not so painted that the detail is all you can see.

From The Painter in Oil A complete treatise on the principles and technique necessary to the painting of pictures in oil colors by Parkhurst, Daniel Burleigh

Then through a vista its waters would sparkle, suggesting an exquisite cabinet picture.

From Barriers Burned Away by Roe, Edward Payson

We are going to have a cabinet picture taken of him.

From Harper's Young People, March 16, 1880 An Illustrated Weekly by Various