Annie Pixley, from the Actresses series (N245) issued by Kinney Brothers to promote Sweet Caporal Cigarettes 1890

This photograph of actress Annie Pixley was produced by the Kinney Brothers Tobacco Company as a promotional item for Sweet Caporal Cigarettes, most likely in the 1880s. The image exists within a matrix of cultural associations. Actresses in the United States at this time were figures of great public interest, and also objects of great controversy; as public figures they were challenging the norms of middle-class domesticity. As such, there was a large market for their images. The tobacco companies were among the first to recognize this and began to include them in their packaging. We can see how the image creates meaning through visual codes: Pixley is adorned with pearls, lace, and an ornate head covering, all signifiers of wealth. To get a better understanding of this image we would need to do more research into the popularity of theater in the late 19th century, as well as the emergence of mass media and the growth of consumer culture. Art history can show us that the meaning of art is always contingent on social and institutional context.