Cigar Store Indian c. 1937

Bernard Westmacott’s drawing of a Cigar Store Indian is rendered in graphite on paper. I see that Westmacott has tried to capture the heft and volume of the original wooden sculpture, giving a sense of the object’s presence. The way the light falls across the figure creates a chiaroscuro effect, and it looks like Westmacott must have used a kneadable eraser to lift the graphite from the page to create highlights. What was he thinking, I wonder, when he made this drawing? Was he simply interested in capturing a likeness, or was he interested in something more, maybe the way the three-dimensional form translates to a two-dimensional surface. I feel a connection to the artist, because I ask these same questions when I draw from life. Painters, like Westmacott, engage in an ongoing conversation across time, inspiring creativity through each other’s work. Like painting, drawing is an embodied expression which embraces ambiguity, allowing for multiple interpretations and meanings.