RAFTSMEN PLAYING CARDS - 1847 oil painting by George Caleb Bingham unused unposted vintage chrome VTG UNP Art Postcard
A86
Flatboatmen enjoy a leisurely game of cards in the moist haze of early morning. As viewers, we are positioned on the front end of the boat and join this rather friendly cast of characters. George Caleb Bingham's western boatmen contrast sharply with the typical image of river laborers at the time, who were portrayed as violent, often drunken, characters. Both an artist and a politician, Bingham was interested in securing commerce and investment in Missouri. His river workers assert a view of the West as civilized and its inhabitants as competent, congenial folk who could be trusted to uphold the ideals and pursuits of the nation.