Cigar Store Figure c. 1937

Eugene Croe made this painting of a Cigar Store Figure with an unknown medium on paper, sometime in the late 19th or early 20th century. There's something really charming about the straightforward way it's rendered, how the marks make no effort to disguise themselves, each colour solid and sure. Look at how the off-white jacket is described with simple brushstrokes. It's like Croe is saying, "Here it is, folks!" The flatness of the painted figure is delightful, especially the way the red trousers, complete with their gold stripe, seem to exist on a totally different plane than the jacket. It almost feels like a collage, but it's all paint, all doing its own thing. It reminds me a little of Florine Stettheimer's theatrical portraits, where figures are flattened and colours are heightened for expressive effect. Both artists seem to be celebrating the pure joy of putting paint on a surface. Ultimately, the beauty here lies in its raw honesty, a celebration of seeing and doing.