Oldring, Philadelphia, American League, from the White Border series (T206) for the American Tobacco Company 1909 - 1911

This small chromolithograph of Oldring of the Philadelphia American League, from the American Tobacco Company’s White Border series, is a tiny window into a bygone era. I imagine some poor underpaid artist, hunched over a table, painting this from a photograph. They’re capturing the clean, crisp lines of his uniform with delicate brushstrokes of white and gray, and the warm flesh tones of his face as he gazes into the distance, maybe dreaming of home. The way the colors are laid down, so flat and even, yet with subtle gradations to suggest form, it feels so tender and intimate. There’s a quietness to the scene, like a moment frozen in time, that's just so nice. The artist would probably never have imagined that their work would end up in a museum! But here it is, reminding us that even the most everyday images can offer a glimpse into the human condition.