Sunflower: Haughtiness, from the series Floral Beauties and Language of Flowers (N75) for Duke brand cigarettes 1892

Editor: So, this little card, "Sunflower: Haughtiness," from 1892. It’s part of a series of floral beauties made for Duke brand cigarettes, incredibly specific, right? It gives me a sense of…almost Victorian secret language. The woman seems delicate but something in her stare challenges that notion. What do you see in this piece? Curator: Ah, yes, a tiny window into a very strange world, those cigarette cards. You nailed the Victorian “secret language” aspect; flowers were definitely doing the talking back then. This particular bloom paired with this woman... I think about the audacity of pinning 'haughtiness' on a sunflower, of all things. A flower so relentlessly cheerful and oriented toward the sun. Editor: Haughtiness seems so severe though. She almost looks melancholy. Curator: Precisely! The implied contradiction makes it interesting, doesn’t it? This card could be seen as playful irony, don't you think? Maybe the artist is poking fun at these assigned meanings or perhaps questioning the woman's inner world beneath her curated exterior. Editor: That tension makes me think there is more going on here than just an advertisement. There's a depth to it. Curator: Exactly! It's easy to dismiss something so small and commercial, but the best art often hides in plain sight. I always love that art can turn ordinary objects into something intriguing. Editor: Me too, I never considered a cigarette card could have so many layers! Curator: It just goes to show how meaning can bloom in the most unexpected places.