Cigar Store Indian c. 1937

Walter Hochstrasser's 'Cigar Store Indian' is a watercolour that seems to emerge gradually through washes of thin colour. Look at the face, so stern and yet, so meticulously rendered; you can sense Walter really studying the original wooden sculpture. The shadows, oh, they seem to dance across the surface, softening the hard edges of what must have been a pretty unforgiving object. Imagine Walter, patiently layering the paint, trying to capture the light as it glanced off the wood. I love the way the colours shift in the feathers—reds, yellows, browns—each stroke feels like a breath. It reminds me of those old folk art traditions where the artist isn't just painting an image, but also telling a story. Walter is in conversation with history here, with the carvers who made these figures, with other painters who were equally fascinated with the human form. It’s all about seeing, feeling, and finding your own voice in the mix.