Cigar Store Indian 1935 - 1942

Here's a watercolour painting of a cigar store Indian, made by Flora Merchant, who lived a long life, from 1855 to 1995. Imagine her, brush in hand, carefully building up the layers of ochre, pink, and brown. You can almost see the ghost of the sculptor’s hand in the painting. What was it like to paint this figure? The original cigar store Indian would have been carved from wood, a three-dimensional object. Merchant flattens this into two dimensions, but she keeps the texture. See how she uses the paint to mimic the rough surface of the wood? I wonder, was Merchant thinking about cultural representation? Appropriation? Nostalgia? It’s hard to know, but the act of painting itself—the slow, deliberate application of color—creates a space for inquiry, for both the artist and us, the viewers. The piece reminds me of the work of other painters interested in vernacular imagery, like Philip Guston. Painting is like a conversation that stretches across time, and each artist adds their own voice to the mix, inspired by what came before. It’s embodied expression and interpretation, open to all sorts of readings.