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Before Instagram: A famous painter's miniature photo souvenirs

Popkin
Sep 16, 2025
∙ Paid

Ivan Aivazovsky, famous for painting huge ocean scenes like "The Ninth Wave," turned 70 in 1887 and did something unexpected. He painted tiny seascapes, each only about 4 by 3 inches.

He didn't put these little pictures on walls. Instead, he had them pasted into studio photos of himself and mailed the photos to more than 150 friends as birthday gifts.

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