Name/Title
"Caricature of L. Morris Leisenring"Description
Caricature of a man seated and holding a model of a Classical building with a T-square and triangle at his feet.Artwork Details
Subject Person
L. Morris LeisenringSeries
Caricatures of past Arts Club presidents by Clifford Kennedy Berryman.Context
L. Morris Leisenring (1875-1965)
Architect L. Morris Leisenring served as Arts Club president twice, once from 1925 to 1926, and again in 1930. A Maryland native, he was raised in Lutherville and went to study at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts and the University of Pennsylvania, as well as the American Academy in Rome. After spending his post-graduation years in Europe on scholarships, he moved to DC in 1906, where he remained for the rest of his life. He married a local painter Matilda Mueden, and both were founding members of the Arts Club of Washington. He oversaw the Arts Club’s conjoining of the Monroe house and MacFeely house in 1929. He was responsible for the restoration of Arlington House in Arlington National Cemetery, which he can be seen holding in the Berryman caricature that urges the viewer to “wait and see what [he’s] done on the inside.” Note the T Square with Leisenring’s name, an allusion to the subject’s profession. Source: Max Gilder, intern for the Arts Club during the spring semester of 2021 while a student at the University of Maryland.Made/Created
Artist
Clifford Kennedy BerrymanInscription/Signature/Marks
Type
SignatureLocation
lower right cornerTranscription
C K BerrymanType
LabelLocation
lower left cornerTranscription
"L. Morris Leisenring 1925, 1926, 1930"Type
InscriptionLocation
upper right corner speech bubbleTranscription
"But wait an' see what I've done inside!"Update Date
August 21, 2025