The same old model 1908

This piece, The Same Old Model, by Louis Glackens, probably made with watercolor or gouache, features a small man offering a model sailboat to Uncle Sam. I wonder if Glackens worked quickly, spontaneously, and with so much confidence? I wonder if he labored over it? The composition isn't perfect, it's a bit off, but maybe that's intentional. It's like he's saying, "Hey, politics is a little bit off too." The little man is offering a model sailboat named "Personal Popularity" but Uncle Sam is looking at another image, which reads "Principle". It's interesting how the texture and color work together to create depth and dimension, adding to the emotional impact of the image. Glackens is speaking to political ideas and so there are a lot of words in the image, but they almost become another kind of texture; another kind of mark making. Painters are always in conversation with each other, across time and space. Glackens is using his creativity to make a statement, and in doing so, he invites us to question our own assumptions and beliefs about American politics.