In Off to Auction, Doris Lee featured a happy, hardworking family from Fairmount, North Carolina, on their way to sell their tobacco crop. The American Tobacco Company commissioned the painting for a Lucky Strike cigarette advertisement. The ad campaign stipulated that artists should depict tobacco farming, not tobacco smoking. The text accompanying the image highlighted that Lucky Strike pays more for tobacco at auction than their competitors, signaling the company’s support for farmers and their families. Text Written by Isabella Hernandez, Registration Intern; MA, Art History in Arts of the Americas, University of Arkansas ’26