Cigar Store Turk c. 1936

Walter Hochstrasser created this watercolor and graphite drawing, entitled Cigar Store Turk, at an unknown date. The image depicts a wooden advertisement of a “Turkish” man, which would have been placed outside a tobacconist. During the 19th century, images of non-Western peoples proliferated across Europe and America as the expansion of colonial empires fueled a fascination with the “exotic” Orient. These figures played an important role in an emerging culture of commerce and advertisement. However, they were often deployed to appeal to a white, middle-class demographic by reinforcing stereotypes about non-Western peoples. Consider the long history of Orientalist tropes in Western art and literature. In what ways did the mass-produced imagery of commercial culture perpetuate these ideas? To learn more, consider the historical context of this image. Investigate the socio-economic conditions in which it was made by examining the ways that commercial art reflected a set of social attitudes.