Tobacconist Figure: Girl of the Period
Dateca. 1880
MediumPaint on eastern white pine (Pinus strobus)
DimensionsOverall (including base): 69 x 18 x 27in. (175.3 x 45.7 x 68.6cm)
Base alone: 12 1/4 x 19 3/8in. (31.1 x 49.2cm)
Credit LineMuseum Purchase
Object number1957.705.3
DescriptionA full-length, approximately life-size, freestanding, painted woodcarving of a woman with a pronounced "hourglass" figure. She is mounted on an iron-wheeled, black-painted, rectangular wooden base. She wears a tiered dress, the present (2/20/2008) paint scheme being red at the top, followed by two tiers of blue, and a final, lower one of a purplish blue. Brown-painted ruffles trim her sleeves at wrists and upper arms, as well as the tiers of the dress. (The dress over her forearms is presently, misleadingly, painted a flesh color and is to be corrected shortly). Flat bows trim the bodice of her dress and her waist at the back. Vertically placed, brown-painted trim extends from her neckline to her waist. In the back, the bow at her waist tops a "bustle" (?) painted brown with gold fringe and trim. Her shoes are black, low heels, with white-painted gaiters or uppers. Her proper right arm is extended forward and, in that hand, she holds a bundle of cigars held by a gold-painted band. Her proper left arm is raised, the elbow bent and the hand at shoulder height, palm upwards. Her long black hair falls in six ringlets to mid-back, with small spit curls in front of each ear. Her hair bears incised carving overall. Behind her proper left ear is tucked a yellow rose with a red center. Remnants believed to have held earring attachments are visible on each ear lobe. She has high arched black brows and brown eyes. She wears a teal colored flat-crowned, flat-brimmed hat. There is a 1-inch diameter hole in the top of her hat/head. Her head is turned slightly towards the viewer's left.Artist unidentified.
Label TextThis buxom female looks more like a woman than a girl. Beginning in the 1860s, however, "Girl of the Period" became a catchphrase signifying a woman whose enslavement to fashion pre-empted all else, from social consciousness to moral rectitude and even common sense. The Folk Art Museum's figure is a variation of this stereotyped female. As a tobacconist figure, her extreme popularity suggests that smokers were more amused than offended by her disdain for traditional values.
The woman's chic attire is a clue to her characterization, but contemporaries would have noted a subtler one as well: the forward bend of her upper body. Flesh and blood women found that shaped corsets encouraged the somewhat unnatural posture. It was fashion, however, that dictated its exaggeration to the point of absurdity, as satirized in numerous contemporary images.
In addition to stock, ready-made figures, most retailers offered customized designs, and carvers welcomed these special orders as chances to try something new. The rose tucked behind the ear of this Girl of the Period is an unusual feature, possibly hinting at Spanish culture and, thus, suggesting that the figure advertised Cuban cigars.
Although the carver remains unidentified, several details suggest the hand of Thomas J. White (1825-1902). The figure's original base is a relatively rare survival.
ProvenanceEdith Gregor Halpert, Downtown Gallery, New York, NY, acted only as an intermediary in the purchase of this piece from William Zorach in 1957, at which time Zorach claimed he had found the figure in Maine and had had it for "more than thirty years."
Exhibition(s)
Probably 1838-1842
1875-1900
ca.1845
ca 1840
Probably 1827-1830