Detail of Maude Adams as Joan of Arc in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, February 2008

Artist
Alphonse Marie Mucha (Czechoslovakian, 1860–1939)

Title
Maude Adams (1872–1953) as Joan of Arc

Date
1909

Medium
Oil on canvas

Dimensions
82 1/4 x 30 in. (208.9 x 76.2 cm)

Credit Line
Gift of A. J. Kobler, 1920

Accession Number
20.33

Painted in Chicago in 1909, this picture depicts the American actress Maude Adams in the role of Joan of Arc in Schiller's "Die Jungfrau von Orleans" ("The Maid of Orleans"), in which she performed on June 21, 1909, at Harvard University. The portrait was made specifically for the one-night gala performance and was displayed as a poster for the event. Mucha also designed the costumes and sets and supervised the direction. Afterwards, at the actress's request, the painting served as the lobby poster for the Empire Theater in New York, where Adams regularly performed. Mucha designed the ornate, gilded frame.

Text from: www.metmuseum.org/Works_of_Art/collection_database/Maude_...