A turn-of-the-century group of artists devoted to a highly exacting technique of “painting in littleâ€, that was a backlash in art against the country’s fascination with technology.
It was an attempt to counteract the ugliness and misery of the burgeoning industrial society, and incorporated a renewed interest in handwork inspired by Englishmen John Ruskin and William Morris.
It culminated in the Arts and Crafts movement that flourished for the last three decades of the 19th century in England, and also in America. William J. Whittemore was one of the founders. Others that were active included Eulabee Dix, Laura Cooms Hills, and Emily Drayton Taylor.