George Bernard Shaw
Artist: Yousuf Karsh (Canadian, 1908-2002)
Date: 1943
Dimensions:
Mount: 28 × 22 in. (71.1 × 55.9 cm)
Image: 19 3/4 × 15 7/8 in. (50.2 × 40.3 cm)
Classification: Photographs
Credit Line: Gift of Margaret and Howard Bond
Object number: 2008.115
Label Text:A master of studio photography, Yousuf Karsh’s goal was to find the hidden character in his subjects and to commit that often-elusive quality to film.
Of Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950), Karsh wrote, “He came bursting into the room with the energy of a young man, though he was almost ninety years old. His manner, his penetrating old eyes, his flashing wit, and his bristling beard were all designed to awe me; in the beginning they succeeded. He obviously loved to act, and assumed the role of harmless Mephistopheles and devil’s advocate. He said I might make a good picture of him—but none as good as the picture he had seen at a recent dinner party where he glimpsed, over the shoulder of his hostess, a perfect portrait of himself; ‘Cruel, you understand, a diabolical caricature, but absolutely true.’ He pushed by the lady, approached the living image, and found he was looking into a mirror! The old man peered at me quizzically to see if I appreciated his little joke. It was then that I caught him in my portrait.”
Of Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950), Karsh wrote, “He came bursting into the room with the energy of a young man, though he was almost ninety years old. His manner, his penetrating old eyes, his flashing wit, and his bristling beard were all designed to awe me; in the beginning they succeeded. He obviously loved to act, and assumed the role of harmless Mephistopheles and devil’s advocate. He said I might make a good picture of him—but none as good as the picture he had seen at a recent dinner party where he glimpsed, over the shoulder of his hostess, a perfect portrait of himself; ‘Cruel, you understand, a diabolical caricature, but absolutely true.’ He pushed by the lady, approached the living image, and found he was looking into a mirror! The old man peered at me quizzically to see if I appreciated his little joke. It was then that I caught him in my portrait.”
Not on view
In Collection(s)