Cigar Store Indian c. 1937

Here's Walter Hochstrasser’s watercolor, ‘Cigar Store Indian’. It depicts a wooden sculpture, carved and painted, likely dating from the late 19th or early 20th century. These figures were a common sight outside tobacconists, beckoning customers. The carving process would have begun with a large timber, likely pine, shaped with axes and saws. Fine details like feathers and facial features were achieved using chisels and gouges. The figure was then painted in bright colors to attract attention. While the cigar store Indian is an example of folk art, it’s also deeply embedded in the history of commerce and cultural appropriation. These sculptures, often mass-produced, presented a romanticized, and often stereotypical image of Native Americans. This imagery was directly at odds with the brutal realities of colonial expansion and the exploitation of indigenous populations. Understanding the material history of this sculpture – from the tree it was made from, to the labor involved in its creation, to its function as a commercial symbol – reveals a complex story about art, labor, and representation in American history.