Chicken Vendor, Trinidad 1923

'Chicken Vendor, Trinidad' is a print made by the American artist George Overbury "Pop" Hart sometime between the two World Wars. The image plunges us into the vibrant commerce of a Trinidadian marketplace. The print uses visual codes of the exotic. We see this in the thatched roofs, tropical foliage, and the gathering of figures in the background. The figures of the vendors are presented with dignity and the animals are rendered with care. These observations may reflect a growing interest in the early 20th century of artists in the lives of ordinary people. To understand this artwork, we might look at period sources, travel writing, and other popular imagery of the time. The value of this image lies in its reminder that all art, whether overtly political or seemingly benign, is shaped by the social and institutional contexts in which it is created and viewed.