Dineen, St. Louis, American League, from the White Border series (T206) for the American Tobacco Company 1909 - 1911

This baseball card of Dineen, St. Louis, from the White Border series, was made for the American Tobacco Company, and I like to think of it as a little painting. Imagine making this: the paper, the ink, the printing process, and then this repeatable image emerges. I wonder if the person in the factory felt like an artist? The colors are flat and matte and blocky, but the rendering of the baseball player, in his stance, feels so alive. Was it hard to get that diagonal of the arm right? Did the artist struggle with the cap? I bet they did, even though it's a commercial product. Every mark counts, and there are no accidents, only decisions, right? And there he is, this early baseball hero, caught in time and motion, just like a painting. Whether it's Manet or a baseball card, we are all in conversation with each other.