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

Here’s a baseball card of Stone, St. Louis, American League, made for the American Tobacco Company. I love how the image has been built up, layer upon layer of color, through intuition, and the accidents of mass production. Imagine for a moment what it was like to make this, the kind of skill and the patience it must have required to make each card as close to perfect as possible. It makes me think about my own work, and how I try to let go and see what happens with each layer of paint. It’s not the same of course. Look at the way the blue background is offset against Stone’s rosy cheeks. It’s a really subtle and amazing effect. The texture is so smooth. I bet it felt great to hold one of these cards. The American Tobacco Company were definitely art makers, whether they knew it or not! We’re all in conversation.