Cecilia Beaux, Georges Clemenceau, 1920, oil on canvas, 46 7⁄8 x 36 3⁄4 in. (119.2 x 93.3 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the National Art Committee, 1923.6.5
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Artwork Details
- Title
- Georges Clemenceau
- Artist
- Date
- 1920
- Location
- Dimensions
- 46 7⁄8 x 36 3⁄4 in. (119.2 x 93.3 cm)
- Credit Line
- Gift of the National Art Committee
- Mediums
- Mediums Description
- oil on canvas
- Classifications
- Subjects
- Portrait male — Clemenceau, Georges
- Occupation — political — statesman
- Object Number
- 1923.6.5
Artwork Description
The United States War Portraits Commission hired Cecilia Beaux to paint this portrait of Georges Clemenceau, the premier of France who signed the World War I peace treaty at Versailles in 1919. Clemenceau hated having his portrait made, so Beaux prepared her composition from photographs and sketches while she waited for his return from a trip to the Middle East. She wrote: "Now I am after the most illusive and 'orneriest' of them all, and dear knows when I shall catch him . . ." Beaux finally went to his house for one sitting and from an oil sketch created this portrait of the statesman, standing in his study behind a desk with books and papers.
