Cigar Store Pocahontas

Art Historical Context

Welcome to the National Gallery of, where *Cigar Store Pocahas* by Lucille Lacoursiere (5/1942) offers a vivid window into America's folk art heritage. This delicate watercolor, graphite, and colored pencil on paper—measuring 41.5 x 30.5 cm—meticulously documents a wooden cigar store figure portraying the legendary Pocahontas. Created as part of the Index of American Design, a-era Federal Art Project, preserves the bold, life-sized trade figures that once stood sentinel outside tobacco shops from the mid-19th to early 20th centuries. These cigar store Indians, often carved in exaggerated Native American attire, symbolized tobacco's indigenous roots and enticed customers with their striking presence. Lacoursiere's precise mixed-media technique captures every carved detail—the flowing headdress, feathered accessories, and vibrant paints—highlighting the craftsmanship of anonymous woodcarvers. The Index, spanning 1935 to 1942, produced over 15,000 such records to celebrate everyday American design amid economic hardship. Today, this artwork sparks reflection on cultural representation, blending commercial whimsy with evolving views on Native imagery. A testament to folk art's role in daily life, it invites us to appreciate how art documented—and critiqued—America's past.