Cigar Store Indian c. 1937

Lucille Chabot captured this Cigar Store Indian with watercolour and graphite. There is a sensitivity about the work; it feels as if the artist has been trying to get to know the figure through colour and line. Look at the earthy palette of muted reds, browns, and greens. The figure emerges through thin washes of watercolour. You can see where Chabot has allowed the colours to bleed and blend, creating depth. I can imagine her carefully layering the paint, trying to evoke the smooth texture of the original carved figure. The precision in the rendering of detail makes me think that she might have wanted to reveal the artistry involved in making these figures. I love the contrast between the flatness of the page and the illusion of three-dimensionality she creates. It’s like she’s thinking about surface and depth at the same time. It makes me wonder what else she was looking at, what else she was trying to capture in her art. Artists are always in conversation, aren’t they?