Cigar Store Indian c. 1946

Albert Ryder painted this Cigar Store Indian, we don’t know when, using watercolors on paper. The first thing I notice is the directness and the rawness of the thing. There’s no fuss, no gloss, just a kind of gentle and unassuming approach to the figure. The surface has a matte quality, and you can see the tooth of the paper, which gives it a sort of vulnerable quality. The brushwork is pretty loose and gestural, you can see how the paint bleeds and blends into the paper, creating soft edges and subtle tonal shifts. Look at the red in the figure’s cloak – the way the pigment pools and settles into the paper creates depth and dimension. Ryder shares a similar commitment to process as folk artists, who are often untrained and working outside of traditional art historical narratives, like Bill Traylor. Both artists remind us that art can be found in the most unexpected places.