Kaye Browning

Kaye Browning, recipient of the 2022 Kentucky Arts Council Milner Award is continuing her dedication to education of the arts with the creation of KSB Miniature Workshops.

Kaye Browning is the curator and creative energy behind the Kathleen Savage Browning Miniatures Collection at the Kentucky Gateway Museum Center in Maysville, Kentucky. Her journey into miniatures started 50 years ago with her fascination with a tiny bed and has since developed into one of the most extensive collections of 1/12-scale miniatures in the world.

Love of history and craftsmanship drew Kaye to miniatures and today she is devoted to publicizing the art form and its artisans. As a prominent collector, she shares her knowledge and expertise through lectures and personal tours of the KSB Miniatures Collection. Be forewarned: Her enthusiasm is contagious. Anyone who listens to Kaye talk about her passion is certain to become enthralled with not only the miniatures, but with Kaye’s zeal for life in all scales. Her efforts in promoting miniatures and the Maysville region were recognized in 2018 when she was awarded the Buffalo Trace Community Leadership Award for contributing to economic growth in her community and again in 2022 when she received the coveted Milner Award, the highest honor bestowed by the Kentucky Governor's Awards in the Arts.

In 2024, Kaye’s dedication to furthering education for miniaturists came to life with the introduction of the inaugural KSB Miniature Workshops bringing artisans from around the globe to teach four-day classes at the Kentucky Gateway Museum Center, home to the KSB Miniatures Collection. In addition, the collection launched its first-ever traveling exhibit, which was well received at the Kentucky State Fair.

Kaye has been published in three languages and is the author of two books chronicling her collecting experiences, Collectively Speaking: My Passionate Pursuit of Miniatures, Volumes 1 and 2. Her third book, a coffee table edition highlighting her collection in detail will debut at the 2025 Chicago International Show, where she will be signing copies. The KSB Miniatures Collection has been featured in publications internationally including American Miniaturist, Miniature Collector, DollsHouse World, DollsHouse & Miniature Scene, Dollhouse Miniatures, DollsHouse Nederland and Miniaturas, as well as in Kentucky Monthly, Kentucky Living, Cincinnati Magazine, Southern Living, USA Today and Esquire. She is also a popular subject of television broadcasts with the collection appearing on such shows as KET’s Kentucky Collectibles, Kentucky Life, and Travel Channel’s Mysteries at the Museum.