The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of October 19, 2026

An oval sepia photograph depicts four small figures in formal attire standing against a soft landscape. From our left, a figure in a dark sleeveless dress holds a mandolin. Beside them, a person in a scalloped dress plays a ukulele. Next, a figure in a suit and bowtie holds a banjo. On our right, a person in a velvet dress holds an instrument with long ribbons. A dark brown frame surrounds the image.

The Doll Family

1920s

America

Celluloid photo pocket mirror
Image: 3.7 x 4.5 cm (1 7/16 x 1 3/4 in.); Overall: 5 x 6.9 cm (1 15/16 x 2 11/16 in.)
Gift of Nina Rosenblum and Lisa Rosenblum 2024.14
Location: Not on view

Did You Know?

Some members of the Doll family, four siblings with dwarfism, played munchkins in the film The Wizard of Oz.

Description

Born in Germany, the Doll Family performed in vaudeville, circuses, sideshows, and films in the United States from the mid-1910s until 1958. This portrait on a pocket mirror would have been sold as a souvenir at their performances and to promote the group. Not incidentally, it is intimately scaled to emphasize the diminutive stature of the subjects of the portrait.
  • {{cite web|title=The Doll Family|url=false|author=|year=1920s|access-date=19 October 2026|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2024.14