Description
Humphrey Bogart is ranked the greatest male star of classic American cinema by the American Film Institution. As the eldest son of wealthy New York parents he was a disappointment in school but excelled in the United States Navy where he left as a Seaman Second Class. He enlisted during WWI and later recalled, “At eighteen, war was great stuff. Paris! Sexy French girls! Hot damn!”
Bogie was a founding member and the original leader of the Rat Pack. He later turned over the role of leader to Frank Sinatra and became known as the Rat Pack’s Director of Public Relations. His wife, model and actress Lauren Bacall, later recalled that the group’s purpose was “To drink a lot of bourbon and stay up late.”
He became a cultural icon who stared in Hollywood films such as High Sierra, The Maltese Falcon, Casablanca, The Cane Mutiny, The African Queen, and Sabrina. Director John Hudson spoke at his funeral and said, “He is quite irreplaceable. There will never be another like him.” My inspiration for this painting was the detective/gangster roles he personified throughout his career. Being such a hot commodity I used varying shades of crimson, magenta, and red to color his typical drab colored clothes. As Bogie off the cuff famously said to Ingrid Bergman in the movie Casablanca, “Here’s looking at you, kid.”
