Cigar Store Indian c. 1937

Walter Hochstrasser made this watercolor of a Cigar Store Indian, we don't know exactly when. Look at how the colors pool and bleed, especially in the feathers – that sense of fluidity gives the image a lively, almost restless quality. It’s a bit like the painting is still in the process of becoming. The red and yellow shades are so dense. There's a wonderful tension here between the flatness of the paper and the illusion of three-dimensional form. The rendering of the figure is so precise it's as if you can almost feel the rough texture of the carved wood. This is particularly noticeable around the face and in the folds of the headdress. The history of this object is fascinating. The Cigar Store Indian has echoes of folk art, but you can also see its connection to the work of someone like Red Grooms, who is similarly interested in vernacular American imagery. Art is always building on what came before! Ultimately, what I love about this is that it allows for so many interpretations.