Effie Shannon as Manon Lescaut, from the Actresses series (T1), distributed by the American Tobacco Co. to promote Turkish Trophies Cigarettes 1900

Editor: This is a fascinating print, a promotional piece from 1900 featuring Effie Shannon as Manon Lescaut. It’s part of the “Actresses” series by the American Tobacco Company. It has a painterly quality with photographic elements; the composition is delicate. What strikes you when you look at this image? Curator: What I see is a confluence of cultural forces at play. On one hand, we have this idealized image of femininity, carefully constructed through costume and pose, rooted in the traditions of portraiture. But, we can’t ignore the advertisement element, that is intimately connected to emerging mass media and consumer culture. Editor: Interesting. Could you elaborate? Curator: Consider the context. Tobacco companies used images of actresses to create aspirational figures to be desired. Shannon, as Manon Lescaut, is positioned as an object of beauty. It is meant to associate a lifestyle with the product being sold. Who was the image of Lescaut appealing to in terms of race, class, gender at this moment of mass production and consumption? Editor: I suppose it's a complicated interaction. Is the consumer engaging in the image, buying cigarettes, and simultaneously internalizing a message? Curator: Precisely. These images didn't simply reflect the aesthetics of the era. They helped to shape them. Art Nouveau emphasizes decoration and the figure blends with the background. The purpose is both visibility of the individual and visual unity for commercial purposes. It speaks volumes about the social constructs of beauty, consumerism, and the evolving role of women at the turn of the century. What do you think? Editor: I hadn’t thought of it that way before, considering advertising and cultural identity are deeply interconnected. Curator: This simple image encapsulates so much when viewed through a lens that acknowledges these intersecting narratives. Editor: Absolutely, I will now see how an artwork carries so much complexity and nuance.