Cigar Store Indian c. 1937

Editor: Here we have "Cigar Store Indian," around 1937, possibly oil and watercolor, by Vincent McPharlin. I’m immediately struck by how… stiff she seems. There’s a formality, an almost posed quality despite the folk-art style. What can you tell us about it? Curator: The “Cigar Store Indian,” as a painted representation, exists within a complex history of appropriation and representation. What purpose do you imagine this "stiffness" served, given the object’s probable location and function? Editor: I guess I hadn’t really thought of her in the context of advertisement before! Was it common to see artwork as advertising? Curator: Absolutely. Think about the cultural context in the early 20th century, especially the way that Native American cultures were romanticized and often stereotyped. These figures were meant to signal a particular kind of product, associate it with exoticism, perhaps. How do you feel knowing that this romanticized image of a native American served to attract the public in to smoke cigars? Editor: It is troubling to realize how such stereotypes were actively perpetuated for commercial purposes. What did McPharlin want to say about the original artwork he painted? Curator: What McPharlin wanted is still an open question. Given that the image likely had significant implications in wider American popular and commercial culture, perhaps it invites us to think more about cultural visibility and its effects in art. Editor: I had only looked at it from a purely aesthetic angle. This reframes how I understand the role of art and representation. Thank you. Curator: Exactly. And seeing art in its socio-political setting allows a fuller grasp on the complex meanings such artworks held then and hold now.