Walter Kennedy, Overboard He Goes, from the Pirates of the Spanish Main series (N19) for Allen & Ginter Cigarettes 1886 - 1891

Curator: This chromolithograph titled "Walter Kennedy, Overboard He Goes," hails from the Pirates of the Spanish Main series, produced by Allen & Ginter sometime between 1886 and 1891. The Met houses it in their collection. It is printed on a card stock and executed with coloured pencils, isn’t it fascinating? Editor: It immediately evokes a rather peculiar feeling of tension. The juxtaposition of a fairly serene portrait with the implied violence creates a compelling disharmony. Note also the slightly faded or pastel coloration... Curator: Precisely, observe how the foregrounded profile, with its stark contours, commands attention, the rendering style of it hints towards the era's interest in representing heroism or perhaps, infamy. How do you interpret that earring, visually punctuating his appearance? Editor: The earring, positioned at the periphery of his face, strikes me as a symbol. Pirates, in general, adopted and adapted cultural symbols from around the world. It's entirely possible that the earring may connect him with seafaring rituals or superstitions aimed at securing favorable voyages. Curator: Absolutely, and beyond the anecdotal, consider the placement. It deliberately catches the light, guiding our eye within the overall composition; a tactic employed to elevate a figure within what otherwise, structurally, becomes an almost cartoonish tableau of secondary characters behind him...almost as if they operate only as part of an overall setting. Editor: What is interesting is how he is literally looking in the opposite direction. His gaze refuses to linger on the events transpiring around him. The sea represents lawlessness and opportunity. Walter Kennedy isn't simply turning away from chaos; his fixed gaze towards the edge of the paper shows aspiration. The background brawlers represent everything he has escaped. Curator: And escaping might imply something else here also, and that is: reinvention. I think this image wants us to ask what reinvention means, and what aspects of the 'old self' get carried to, or left behind at the destination...and visually at least it provides an architecture of clues to guide such inquiry. Editor: What I now appreciate about this chromolithograph, thanks to this deeper analysis, is its invitation to dissect a complex interplay of power and identity, themes still reverberating today. Curator: A keen observation, because upon reflection, what stands out for me is that what may initially seem as simple graphic work, presents a masterfully interwoven dance of graphic and thematic elements that engage the eye and stimulate deeper interpretive reflection.