Brook Trout, from Fish from American Waters series (N39) for Allen & Ginter Cigarettes 1889

Curator: The work before us is "Brook Trout, from Fish from American Waters series (N39) for Allen & Ginter Cigarettes," created in 1889. Editor: I'm struck by the almost diagrammatic precision. It’s an appealing image – clean lines, vivid color. Is it meant as scientific illustration or merely decorative? Curator: In some ways, it operates in both registers. Allen & Ginter Cigarettes were known for their collectible cards, and this series spoke to turn-of-the-century America’s obsession with natural history. We can unpack how it participates in both the promotion of an idealized version of nature, as well as colonial consumption, both being intertwined with notions of race, class and progress during the Gilded Age. Editor: Ah, I see. So, the arrangement itself creates a hierarchy? The trout presented as specimen above, while the fishing lures and snail take a distinctly subservient place beneath? Curator: Exactly! Note how the sharp details bring the trout into focus. The colors pop! Meanwhile the props almost seem to blend in with their surroundings. In doing this, it privileges not only the brook trout, but more specifically the hunter, by visually relegating the fish’s habitat and hunting tools to the periphery. Editor: The artist’s deliberate arrangement of visual space also hints at some very interesting class dynamics. We could even see this work in context of Manifest Destiny’s influence on popular imagery? Curator: Yes, precisely! By linking nature with consumer culture through art, works like these subtly normalizes a landscape ripe for conquest and exploitation. And here at the Met, in our contemporary moment, we can contemplate and challenge the politics behind these deceptively quaint images. Editor: Seeing how these elements come together casts an entirely different light on its accessible charm. Thank you.