Artwork Details
- Title
- Three Allies in Cairo
- Artist
- Date
- ca. 1945
- Location
- Not on view
- Dimensions
- 28 5⁄8 x 36 1⁄2 in. (72.7 x 92.7 cm.)
- Credit Line
- Gift of the Harmon Foundation
- Mediums
- Mediums Description
- oil on paperboard
- Classifications
- Subjects
- History — United States — World War II
- Portrait male — Churchill, Winston — full length
- Portrait male — Chiang Kai-shek — full length
- Portrait male — Roosevelt, Franklin Delano — full length
- Object — other — flag
- Object — other — flag
- Object Number
- 1967.59.663
Artwork Description
Johnson copied a photograph from Life magazine to commemorate the historic meeting between U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt (center), Chinese Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek (left), and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill (right) in Cairo in November 1943. Palm trees and pyramids identify the location, as does the green Egyptian flag at the top edge of the painting.
Roosevelt had multiple goals when he invited the Chinese leader and British prime minister to meet. He wanted to confirm U.S. support for China and sketch out a vision for the postwar future in which a world power in each major region of the globe would keep peace. In a photo op following the meeting, the three heads of state issued a press release that confirmed China's status as one of the four allied Great Powers.
Works by this artist (6 items)
Exhibitions
