George Bernard Shaw

Artist Yousuf Karsh (Canadian, 1908-2002)

Date1943

DimensionsMount: 28 × 22 in. (71.1 × 55.9 cm)
Image: 19 3/4 × 15 7/8 in. (50.2 × 40.3 cm)

ClassificationPhotographs

Credit LineGift of Margaret and Howard Bond

Object number

2008.115

Not on View

Label TextA 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.”Exhibition HistoryToledo Museum of Art, Looks Good on Paper: Masterworks and Favorites, Oct. 10, 2014-Jan. 11, 2015.