François Léon Sicard, French, 1862-1934, a bronze portrait bust of Georges Clemenceau, dedicated to Lady Edward Cecil (Hatfield House), dated 1919, cast to the right shoulder FL Sicard, the verde antico marble base inscribed LADY EDWARD CECIL / G.CLEMENCEAU / 1919, 45cm high Note: Violet Georgina Maxse, Lady Edward Cecil and later Viscountess Milner (1872-1958) was widowed in 1918 after her first husband, Lord Edward Cecil died of Spanish flu. She married Alfred Milner, 1st Viscount Milner (1854-1925) in 1921 having first exchanged letters with him during his time in South Africa as High Commissioner. Viscount Milner was a British statesman and part of Lloyd George’s War Cabinet during the First World War. He attended the 1919 Paris Peace Conference where he became one of the signatories of the Treaty of Versailles. It seems highly likely that during this period Lady Edward Cecil, his future wife, was introduced to George Clemenceau, the French Prime Minister, and the present bust was subsequently presented to her. François Léon Sicard studied under Félix Joseph Barrias and Félix Laurent. He exhibited at the French Salons, gaining an honorable mention in 1887, a second-class medal in 1894, a first-class medal in 1897, and gold medal at l'Exposition Universelle of 1900. Notable works include La convention Nationale in the Panthéon, Paris, and Le Bon Samaritain (1896), in the jardin des Tuileries, Paris. Please refer to department for condition report