Yankee, from Types of Nationalities (N240) issued by Kinney Bros. 1890

Curator: This striking portrait comes from a series produced by Kinney Brothers Tobacco Company around 1890, titled "Types of Nationalities," and this one's labelled "Yankee." It is a colored-pencil print drawing, now held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Editor: My immediate impression is the intense focus on the figure's head and gesturing hand. The artist has really highlighted the texture of the hair and beard, there is so much more detail there than in the figure's clothes or the background. Curator: The rendering does favor realism, though it is certainly idealized, and slightly caricatured to underscore a regional stereotype. Note the flattened, almost two-dimensional treatment of the patterned shirt compared to the attempt at a tactile quality to the man's stubble. Editor: I'm particularly drawn to that. Kinney Brothers' mass production of these cards transforms art into something circulating within a network of material exchange. We have this portrait of a “Yankee” produced, consumed, and discarded alongside tobacco—what kind of portrait does it provide through this industrial chain? Curator: Precisely, the image serves a function. In this instance, the compositional strategy isolates a singular “type” and presents him to be understood. The foregrounding creates a reading predicated on readily accessible and legible visual signs, perhaps reflecting the then-prevalent notion of American identity. Editor: Consider the cost and distribution. Colored pencil was relatively cheap, aiding large production. Disseminated through tobacco products, the portrait enters diverse hands. Therefore, it also begs questions about representation: who produced this “Yankee” and for whom? Curator: A good point to bring up. As a collectible inserted within a widely purchased item, "Yankee" presents an image tailored to reinforce specific notions for the consumers, even at the cost of perpetuating caricatured images. The text below also lends itself to certain attributes regarding those identifying as 'Yankee'. Editor: Definitely. Reflecting on the method of production alongside its cultural content invites contemplation about this Yankee—not as an artistic interpretation, but an artifact embedded within socio-economic currents. Curator: Indeed, viewing this "Yankee" allows us to grasp the aesthetic composition of art, while contextualizing it enables us to understand the interplay of design and fabrication.