Bell Bird, from the Song Birds of the World series (N23) for Allen & Ginter Cigarettes 1890

Curator: This little artwork is titled "Bell Bird, from the Song Birds of the World series," created around 1890 for Allen & Ginter Cigarettes. It's currently held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Quite the delicate drawing. Editor: The first thing I notice is the stillness. It’s so poised, that bird, perched on the branch. It’s almost unreal. Is it watercolor and coloured pencil? Gives it an otherworldly quality, doesn't it? Like a phantom. Curator: Exactly. The mix of watercolor and colored pencil certainly contributes. The soft washes of color give way to defined lines— it’s printed, but has such grace and delicacy. You can feel the influence of Japonisme here too, an airy lightness reminiscent of ukiyo-e prints. Editor: Absolutely, and that single feather! Shooting straight up like a tiny exclamation point! Perhaps a symbol of freedom, or even a kind of avian rebellion against its ornate cage. It is also very peculiar that it has this piercing red eyes against such a subdued feather pallate! Curator: You know, that arresting red eye actually startled me initially. Birds in art carry centuries of symbolic baggage, but here, divorced from a strictly scientific or realistic depiction, that pop of color lends it a certain mystical, dare I say even slightly menacing, quality. It looks as if its staring at you through its soul! Editor: True! It makes me wonder if this card was intended to evoke more than just a beautiful songbird. Perhaps a deeper message about beauty existing alongside, or even containing, an element of wildness, of untamed power? What I love about the little object is that it asks these questions to the observer. Curator: Well put. Maybe, as a commercial print, this card acted as a pocket-sized piece of accessible art, blurring lines between consumerism and cultural appreciation. Think about it—a smoker pauses for a moment, considers beauty. Editor: The intersection is jarring but also compelling. Now I think about how we project ourselves and cultural meanings onto such simple images—I find that thought fascinating.