Untitled (Cigar Store Female Figure)

Copied Unidentified, Untitled (Cigar Store Female Figure), ca. 1875, carved and painted wood with metal, 37 3411 5811 58 in. (95.929.429.4 cm.), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Herbert Waide Hemphill, Jr. and museum purchase made possible by Ralph Cross Johnson, 1986.65.290
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Artwork Details

Title
Untitled (Cigar Store Female Figure)
Artist
Unidentified
Date
ca. 1875
Dimensions
37 3411 5811 58 in. (95.929.429.4 cm.)
Credit Line
Gift of Herbert Waide Hemphill, Jr. and museum purchase made possible by Ralph Cross Johnson
Mediums
Mediums Description
carved and painted wood with metal
Classifications
Keywords
  • Indian
  • Dress — Indian dress
  • Figure female — full length
Object Number
1986.65.290

Artwork Description

The decline of the shipbuilding industry in the nineteenth century led many shipcarvers to turn to making shop figures. The most popular of these were cigar store Indians, which stood outside tobacco shops. The symbol of a Native American commonly appeared to advertise tobacco, which was discovered in the New World. The popularity of the figures declined by the end of the nineteenth century, however, with the introduction of electrical store signs and anti-sidewalk-obstruction laws.