Signing of the Treaty of Versailles, 1919
Medium
Painting
Classification
Painting
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; transfer from the Smithsonian American Art Museum; gift of an anonymous donor, 1926
Accession Number
NPG.65.83
Tags
About this artwork
The American belief in reform and progress at the beginning of the twentieth century received a severe blow with the outbreak of war in Europe in 1914. Many had taken it as an article of faith that nations no longer had to resort to war to solve differences even though Germany had been perceived as a threat to democratic nations by President Woodrow Wilson and others for years. Wilson clung to the principle of American neutrality, but he was obligated to protect American maritime and commercial ...