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 (8 items)

John Cage, Not Wanting to Say Anything about Marcel, Lithograph A, 1969, color lithograph on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase, 1972.96
Not Wanting to Say Anything about Marcel, Lithograph A
Date1969
color lithograph on paper
Not on view
John Cage, Seven Day Diary (Not Knowing), Day Seven, 1978, color etching with hard ground etching, drypoint, sugar aquatint, photo etching, and found objects, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Bequest of Moses Lasky, 2004.32.5.7
Seven Day Diary (Not Knowing), Day Seven
Date1978
color etching with hard ground etching, drypoint, sugar aquatint, photo etching, and found objects
Not on view
John Cage, Seven Day Diary (Not Knowing), Day Five, 1978, hard and soft ground etching, drypoint, sugar aquatint, photo etching, and found objects, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Bequest of Moses Lasky, 2004.32.5.5
Seven Day Diary (Not Knowing), Day Five
Date1978
hard and soft ground etching, drypoint, sugar aquatint, photo etching, and found objects
Not on view
John Cage, Seven Day Diary (Not Knowing), Day Six, 1978, color etching with hard and soft ground etching, drypoint, sugar aquatint, photo etching and found objects, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Bequest of Moses Lasky, 2004.32.5.6
Seven Day Diary (Not Knowing), Day Six
Date1978
color etching with hard and soft ground etching, drypoint, sugar aquatint, photo etching and found objects
Not 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.

More Artworks from the Collection

Al Blaustein, Family and Friends, ca. 1967, pen and ink and pencil on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Sara Roby Foundation, 1985.30.4
Family and Friends
Dateca. 1967
pen and ink and pencil on paper
Not on view
William H. Johnson, Soldiers Standing with Rifles, ca. 1941-1942, recto: pen and ink and pencil on paper
verso: pencil on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Harmon Foundation, 1967.59.564R-V
Soldiers Standing with Rifles
Dateca. 1941-1942
recto: pen and ink and pencil on paper verso: pencil on paper
Not on view
William H. Johnson, Storefront Church, ca. 1940-1941, pen and ink and pencil with wash on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Harmon Foundation, 1967.59.566
Storefront Church
Dateca. 1940-1941
pen and ink and pencil with wash on paper
Not on view
William H. Johnson, Mountains and Blossoming Trees, Norway, ca. 1935-1938, brush and ink and pencil on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Harmon Foundation, 1967.59.127
Mountains and Blossoming Trees, Norway
Dateca. 1935-1938
brush and ink and pencil on paper
Not on view