This portrait, by the famous British artist Sir William Orpen, was painted in Paris at the time of the Peace Conference of 1919. Sir Robert's haggard expression reflects not only the pressure of the Peace Conference but also the accumulated strain of four years as Canada's war leader. Within a year Sir Robert's health was to give way, and he retired from the premiership. His diplomatic achievements lived after him: Canada was no longer excluded from international discussions because of her colonial status. Borden, incidentally, loathed this portrait and threatened to have it burned.
