Cigar Store Indian c. 1936

Bernard Westmacott’s "Cigar Store Indian" is rendered with the simple means of watercolor and pencil. I wonder, was he outside, trying to catch the likeness of the real thing, or was he just imagining it all? There's something so quiet and subdued about the palette, like faded memories. The ochre and brown tones give the figure a kind of earthy solidity, while the splash of red adds a dramatic flair—a flicker of defiance against the more muted tones. Notice how the lines are carefully drawn, but there's also a looseness to the washes of color, which gives the piece a feeling of being caught in time, like a half-remembered dream. It reminds me of those early American folk artists, always trying to capture something essential about the human spirit. I think Westmacott was in conversation with a whole history of image-making when he made this. A history built on curiosity, a history built on exchange.