The artwork titled “The Arkansas Traveller,” created by Currier and Ives in 1870, is an illustration falling under the Romanticism movement and genre painting category.
This Romantic-era artwork depicts a lively genre scene set in the backwoods of Arkansas. It features a traveler on horseback, engaging with a group of rural inhabitants outside a rustic log cabin labeled “Whisky.” The traveler, dressed in formal attire, is positioned centrally, gesturing with his hand as he presumably converses with the seated figure of a man donning a hat and vest. Observers, including children and a woman, watch the interaction with interest while a dog rests in the foreground. The log cabin, constructed of rough-hewn logs, appears weather-worn, adding to the rural and candid ambiance of the scene.