Cigar Store Indian
c. 1937
Medium
watercolor, colored pencil, and graphite on paper
Dimensions
overall: 46.8 x 29.8 cm (18 7/16 x 11 3/4 in.)
Classification
Index of American Design
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Index of American Design
Accession Number
1943.8.10008
Art Historical Context
Welcome to the National Gallery of, where John Davis's *Cigar Store Indian*c. 1937) captures a vibrant slice of American folk art history. This detailed watercolor, colored pencil, graphite rendering on paper (46.8 x 29.8 cm) depicts a classic wooden trade figure once ubiquitous outside tobacco shops in the 19th and 20th centuries. life-sized statues, often carved to resemble Native Americans holding cigars or tobacco bundles, symbolized the plant's indigenous origins while serving as eye-catching advertisements in an era before modern signage. Created as part of the Index of American Design—...