Georges Clemenceau

Cecilia Beaux, Georges Clemenceau, 1920, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the National Art Committee, 1923.6.5
Copied 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
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/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.