At the time of the New York World interview, Dubreuil was best known for trompe l’oeil images
of legal currency, such as Take One. Similar pictures had been produced by some of his
American contemporaries, including William Michael Harnett, since at least 1877. As in
Harnett’s case, the illusionism of Dubreuil’s bank notes drew public admiration, which is why he
was pursued for an interview. The reporter described two of his larger works on view at the
Seventh Avenue saloon in some detail. The first, entitled Barrels O’ Money (unlocated), was an
unusual depiction of unattainable wealth. It showed rows of oak casks filled with freshly minted
treasury bills, topped with “heaping shovelfuls” of gold coins and sparkling jewels that spilled
onto the floor. The second of these two paintings — an image of a bank robbery — was
considered “the key” to the artist’s “aspirations, disappointments, joys and sorrows”. Certainly, it
related to his past experience with the world of banking and his current poverty.4
Victor Dubreuil, Don’t Make a Move!, oil on canvas, 1893 — Source.
Now called Don’t Make a Move!, the canvas, painted during a time of economic depression, is
identified in the article as A Prediction For 1900; or, a Warning to Capitalists. This first title and
visual evidence within the painting imply that the subject is an allegorical indictment of
international banking. The artist himself, shown wearing his signature broad-brimmed hat and
pointing a pistol at the viewer, and his “ex-washerwoman” pose as two bank robbers who, in
their coarse clothing, are ostensibly victims of financial reverses.5 They face the spectator who,
in the position of bank representative, is the real culprit and, in fear, has just knocked over a stool
and discarded a newspaper. As the blank account ledger shows, no records have been kept, and
the money is not in any order but, rather, stashed chaotically in a drawer. In this symbolic world,
the upside-down image of Martha Washington visible on the dollar bill at the top of the pile of
notes in the washerwoman’s outstretched right hand and the pointedly upended word “United”
on a nearby bank note suggest the topsy-turvy state of the country. The discarded newspaper, a
fictitious international publication entitled The Sport, produced in London but on sale for five
“cents”, contains several satirical and anti-imperialist references, such as “Russian Republic” and
“1810”, the year the paper was established. This is when Mexico, Argentina, Chile, Colombia,
and Venezuela rebelled and called for an end to Spanish rule. Taken together, other legible
words — “Salvator”, “Unidos”, and “Nihil” — imply crisis and general despair.6
The dominant theme appears to be horse racing, known as “the sport of kings”, with such legible
words as “payday” and “European” accompanied by “Derby” and “Chantilly”, the location of
famous racetracks in England and France, respectively. Racetrack betting was surely a metaphor
for international speculation in currency values. The month and day of the newspaper, given as
“Février 21”, likely alludes to the publication on this day in 1848 of Karl Marx and Friedrich
Engels’ Communist Manifesto. With the future centennial year of 1900 added to this date, it
becomes an ominous prediction of proletarian revolt. What the robbers have found, in their
surprise visit, is an American bank in the act of gambling with the money of its depositors and an
international situation that reverberates with the struggle of the disenfranchised. The word
“Revolution” notably appears under the newspaper subheading “United States of America”.
Detail from Victor Dubreuil, Don’t Make a Move!, 1893
Given that it was displayed in late 1893, Don’t Make a Move! almost certainly points to the
severe financial panic and depression that began in January of that year. With a paper currency
based on a bimetal standard and the general public’s anxiety over the continuance of deflation
dating from the Civil War, the gold reserve of the United States Treasury fell below the legal
limit, and, in response, the government stopped producing gold certificates. As the situation
worsened, some American banks refused to pay cash for the checks of their own depositors or
treated their depositors unequally. Hundreds of businesses and banks failed. At the time, one
popular explanation was that British and eastern United States bankers were conspiring to force
Congress to adopt a single gold standard, thereby increasing the value of the gold supply that
they controlled. The economy did not recover until June 1894, and even this relief was followed
within about a year by an economic recession.7
To be sure, not all of Dubreuil’s oil paintings were iconographically complex allegories; most
were more salable images that showcased his ability to simulate reality in such a way as to fool
the viewer. His painted illusions are particularly effective when the subject is a still life — a few
dollar bills, a lithographic print, or a carte de visite, such as the one he copied of Grover
Cleveland (White House Collection), probably while Cleveland was still president. But Dubreuil
was too inventive to limit himself to meticulous copying for its own sake. The artist’s casks of
currency, which he produced in a series of at least eight, are imaginary creations that appeal in a
humorous way, calling attention to human greed. They also could be used, seemingly without his
consent, as an irresistible lure in a saloon scam.8