Potsdam Meeting

William H. Johnson, Potsdam Meeting, ca. 1945, oil on paperboard, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Harmon Foundation, 1967.59.655
William H. Johnson, Potsdam Meeting, ca. 1945, oil on paperboard, 37 1228 12 in. (95.472.4 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Harmon Foundation, 1967.59.655

Artwork Details

Title
Potsdam Meeting
Date
ca. 1945
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
37 1228 12 in. (95.472.4 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of the Harmon Foundation
Mediums
Mediums Description
oil on paperboard
Classifications
Subjects
  • Portrait male — Atlee, Clement — full length
  • Object — other — flag
  • Portrait male — Stalin, Joseph — full length
  • History — United States — Potsdam Conference
  • Figure group
  • Portrait male — Truman, Harry — full length
Object Number
1967.59.655

Artwork Description

Johnson presented the image of three world leaders--U.S. President Harry Truman (center), Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin (right), and British Prime Minister Clement Attlee (left) --joining hands in victory and standing on a Nazi flag. The three met in Potsdam, Germany, in July and early August 1945 to discuss the terms of the peace after Germany's surrender on May 8. When leaders of the three countries had met in Yalta the previous February, they began laying out terms of a postwar peace. But the cast of characters at Potsdam was new. Truman replaced Franklin Roosevelt, who had died in April, and Attlee replaced Churchill midway through the meeting when the results of his recent landslide victory were announced. But much was still at stake. Although Germany had surrendered, the conflict in Asia continued. Just days after the Potsdam meeting, the United States dropped an atomic bomb on the city of Hiroshima. After a second bomb decimated Nagasaki, the war in the Pacific ended.

Works by this artist (1036 items)

William H. Johnson, Young Pastry Cook, ca. 1928-1930, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Harmon Foundation, 1967.59.693
Young Pastry Cook
Dateca. 1928-1930
oil on canvas
On view
William H. Johnson, Portrait of a Man, ca. 1935-1938, oil on burlap, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Harmon Foundation, 1967.59.814
Portrait of a Man
Dateca. 1935-1938
oil on burlap
On view
William H. Johnson, Breakdown with Flat Tire, ca. 1940-1941, oil on plywood, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Harmon Foundation, 1967.59.587
Breakdown with Flat Tire
Dateca. 1940-1941
oil on plywood
On view
William H. Johnson, For India and China, ca. 1944-1945, oil on paperboard, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Harmon Foundation, 1967.59.662
For India and China
Dateca. 1944-1945
oil on paperboard
On view

Exhibitions

Media - 1967.59.1146 - SAAM-1967.59.1146_2 - 141130
Fighters for Freedom: William H. Johnson Picturing Justice
March 8, 2024September 10, 2024
William H. Johnson's Fighters for Freedom series from the mid-1940s is a tribute to African American activists, scientists, teachers, and performers as well as international leaders working to bring peace to the world.