H.M.S. Sultan, from the Naval Vessels of the World series (N226) issued by Kinney Bros. 1889

Curator: Well, hello there. Doesn't this print just conjure up days of yore? It's an image of the H.M.S. Sultan, part of the "Naval Vessels of the World" series produced by Kinney Bros. in 1889. Editor: Yes, it has an appealing nostalgia. Immediately, what grabs me is how they've suggested vastness and distance with the all-over field of tiny stippled dots... but then contained that spatial effect within a very formal rectangle. Curator: Absolutely! The technique, a chromolithograph using watercolor and colored pencil, captures the essence of the British Empire's naval power in its heyday, yet it’s rendered with such delicate strokes. It's a card meant for cigarette packets; an ephemeral item elevated through craft, isn't it delicious? Editor: I agree! And look how the ship itself mirrors that interplay between the detailed and the stylized. The ship's rigging is a delicate web of lines, almost like a musical score, creating both realism and abstraction. Its dark solidity provides a grounding mass against the sky and the curling edges of the informational text block on the right. I find the color and shape choices surprisingly dynamic. Curator: Oh, utterly! It's like Kinney Bros. captured a grand maritime scene and distilled it into this little capsule. This little piece acted as a promotional tool, of course. I wonder what it inspired back then... Perhaps a lad’s dreams of adventure on the high seas or his father's pride for Queen and country? Editor: Certainly! The composition leads your eye on a journey. The flag on the left acts almost as an anchor for your gaze. The smokestack and the angled ship invite the eye to roam to the banner. Curator: Funny, isn't it? This small rectangle now floats within the grand halls of the Met, holding untold stories in its gentle watercolor washes and in the legacy of the business which thought that war and tobacco mix well... Editor: Well, exactly! The original intention might have been quite capitalistic, yet, through the compositional choices and its visual structure, the artwork achieved an emotive response to what's past while inviting further curiosity and contemplation of the nature of power.