William Orpen (Irish 1878-1931) Study of a Baby pencil 18 x 16.5 cm, framed and glazed 29 x 26 cm Provenance: The Property of Diana Olivier (the artist's daughter), thence by descent.
Sir William Orpen, KBE RA RHA, Irish 1878-1931 - I'm Looking for Titina; ink on paper, annotated and dedicated along bottom half of sheet, 26.2 x 20.5 cm Provenance: Pyms Gallery, London, stock no.H635 (label attached to the reverse of the frame) Note: Irish born Sir William Orpen was one of the most important artists working in early 20th century Britain and his work made while an Official War Artist in WWI are now considered amongst the most powerful paintings depicting war ever made. Orpen’s work was synonymous with the endeavours and achievements of Mary and Alan Hobart at Pyms Gallery, as they were instrumental in bringing about a reappraisal of his work in the late 20th century. Due to various feuds with Augustus John and Wyndham Lewis amongst others, Orpen's reputation has been tarnished following his death and was rarely exhibited or written about. From their 1982 ‘The Irish Revival’, the Hobarts exhibited important Irish modern artists at their gallery in London, bringing these figures back to prominence. Orpen’s work was central to their private collection and was featured heavily in the exhibition ‘Championing Irish Art: The Mary and Alan Hobart Collection’ at the Irish Museum of Modern Art in 2023.
Sir William Orpen, KBE RA RHA, Irish 1878-1931 - Trying to Draw this Rabbit; watercolour and ink on headed paper, annotated across bottom quarter and reverse of sheet, 33.3 x 20.3 cm Provenance: Pyms Gallery, London, stock no.L937 (label attached to the reverse of the frame) Note: Irish born Sir William Orpen was one of the most important artists working in early 20th century Britain and his work made while an Official War Artist in WWI are now considered amongst the most powerful paintings depicting war ever made. Orpen’s work was synonymous with the endeavours and achievements of Mary and Alan Hobart at Pyms Gallery, as they were instrumental in bringing about a reappraisal of his work in the late 20th century. Due to various feuds with Augustus John and Wyndham Lewis amongst others, Orpen's reputation has been tarnished following his death and was rarely exhibited or written about. From their 1982 ‘The Irish Revival’, the Hobarts exhibited important Irish modern artists at their gallery in London, bringing these figures back to prominence. Orpen’s work was central to their private collection and was featured heavily in the exhibition ‘Championing Irish Art: The Mary and Alan Hobart Collection’ at the Irish Museum of Modern Art in 2023.
Sir William Orpen, KBE RA RHA, Irish 1878-1931 - The End - A Glaze of Copal Varnish; ink and wash on paper, titled across top of sheet, 24.7 x 21.2 cm Provenance: Pyms Gallery, London, stock no.F561 (label attached to the reverse of the frame) Note: Irish born Sir William Orpen was one of the most important artists working in early 20th century Britain and his work made while an Official War Artist in WWI are now considered amongst the most powerful paintings depicting war ever made. Orpen’s work was synonymous with the endeavours and achievements of Mary and Alan Hobart at Pyms Gallery, as they were instrumental in bringing about a reappraisal of his work in the late 20th century. Due to various feuds with Augustus John and Wyndham Lewis amongst others, Orpen's reputation has been tarnished following his death and was rarely exhibited or written about. From their 1982 ‘The Irish Revival’, the Hobarts exhibited important Irish modern artists at their gallery in London, bringing these figures back to prominence. Orpen’s work was central to their private collection and was featured heavily in the exhibition ‘Championing Irish Art: The Mary and Alan Hobart Collection’ at the Irish Museum of Modern Art in 2023.
SIR WILLIAM ORPEN (BRITISH 1878-1931)SELF-PORTRAITInk Signed, dedicated, inscribed My dear Miss Kelly Jones-This is myself trying/to look like Gerald du Maurier and dated London 30.12.21 (to lower edge of sheet) 19 x 15cm (7¼ x 5¾ in.)Gerald du Maurier was an actor whose best known roles included Ernest in J.M. Barrie's The Admirable Crichton, 1902 and George Darling and Captain Hook in Peter Pan at the Duke of York's Theatre in 1904.
SIR WILLIAM ORPEN (BRITISH 1878-1931)PORTRAIT OF MISS J.M. HONE, HOWTH, DUBLINPencil and watercolourSigned (lower right)34.5 x 31.5cm (13½ x 12¼ in.)Exhibited:London, The Fine Arts Society, The Early Years of the New English Art Club, February 1968, no. 85
Sir William Orpen KBE RA RI RHA (1878-1931) KISSING THE BLARNEY STONE ink and wash signed lower centre and lower right; with Pyms Gallery label on reverse h:10.25 w:16 in. Provenance: Alan and Mary Hobart Collection
Sir William Orpen KBE RA RI RHA (1878-1931) BILLY THE O' ink on Metropolitan School of Art headed paper inscribed lower centre h:13 w:8 in. Provenance: Alan and Mary Hobart Collection
Sir William Orpen KBE RA RI RHA (1878-1931) THE LEPRECHAUN ink on Screebe Lodge, Maam Crossroads via Galway, headed paper h:8.75 w:6.75 in. Provenance: Alan and Mary Hobart Collection
Sir William Orpen KBE RA RI RHA (1878-1931) A BAD SHOT OR 'WICKED WASTE', 1924 ink and wash on Hotel Majestic, Paris headed paper titled upper left; dated lower left; inscribed lower centre; with Pyms Gallery label on reverse h:10.50 w:7 in. Provenance: Alan and Mary Hobart Collection
Sir William Orpen KBE RA RI RHA (1878-1931) THE BATHERS [STUDY], 1900 charcoal, watercolour and gouache signed and dated upper right h:8.75 w:11.50 in. Provenance: Alan and Mary Hobart Collection Alan Hobart died in 2021 and Mary three years later. His obituary in the Irish Times wrote, "The Irish in the early 20th century had been poets and playwrights, not painters. The Hobarts set out to disprove this popular misconception." The Hobarts were founders of the Pyms Gallery in London and in 2023 the Irish Museum of Modern Art curated a show in their honor 'Championing Irish Art The Mary and Alan Hobart Collection' 8 April to 23 July 2023 describing it thus: "An exhibition dedicated to the Pyms Gallery will expand on the role that its founders, Mary and Alan Hobart, played in establishing a new canon of Irish art, alongside the political risks taken by the Gallery in promoting Irish art in the midst of the turbulence of the 1980s and against the backdrop of the Troubles."
William Orpen (Irish 1878-1931) Study of a Baby pencil 18 x 16.5 cm, framed and glazed 29 x 26 cm Provenance: The Property of Diana Olivier (the artist's daughter), thence by descent.
Attributed to Sir William Orpen (1878 - 1931), study for a portrait of William Temple, unsigned, pencil, 23.5 x 15 cm, framed 44.5 x 33.5 cm, the reverse with an image of a similar portrait painting of a Catholic Bishop.
Sir William Orpen, RA RHA (1876-1931) Old John's Cottage, Connemara Oil on canvas, 91.5 x 96.5cm (36 x 38'') Signed and dated 1908 Painting of Seán & Máire Geoghegan in Co. Mayo after their daughter’s Farewell Party - known as an American Wake because the parents knew it was the last time they would ever see their child. Provenance: Mrs Evelyn St George, 1908, who purchased it for £200; A. St George & B. Duke, September 1989 to Pym's Gallery, London; Collection Vincent and Jacqueline O’Brien, Ireland 1971, thence by descent. Exhibited: Dublin, Royal Hibernian Academy, A free Spirit, Irish Art, 1860-1960, 1990, no.31; Dublin, National Gallery of Ireland, on loan from 2017 to 2024. Literature: Sir William Orpen RA, Stories of Old Ireland and Myself, 1924 (Williams and Northgate), p. 34 (illus); PG Konody & Sidney Dark, Sir William Orpen, 1932(Seeley Service & Co. Ltd), p. 277 listed as 'uncertain date'; Bruce Arnold, Orpen Mirror to an Age, 1981 (Jonathan Cape), 1981, p. 239; Kenneth McConkey, A Free Spirit, Irish Art, 1860-1960, 1990 (Antique Collectors' Club in association with Pyms Gallery, London), pp., 132-2 (illus) In 1907 when William Orpen was painting his first portrait of Gardenia St George at Screebe Lodge in Maam Cross, county Mayo, he visited the humbler abode of Seán and Máire Geoghegan - a cabin the interior of which became the setting for Old John’s Cottage, Connemara. The custodians of this ancient hearth, mute and motionless, project an iconic presence.[1] Their passivity carries the grief that came with the departure of their granddaughter for New York where she would enter domestic service and never be seen again. The farewell was marked in what was described as an ‘American Wake’. The contrast between what he referred to as the ‘poorer classes’ pictured here, and the ‘Ascendancy’ circle in Louth where he would shortly paint the Vere Foster Family, (National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin) could not be greater.[2] Up to this point Orpen had mythologised the Dublin poor as a collection of ragged mountebanks plying their trade on the Quays, but now he confronted the blank resignation of those for whom there was no escape from life’s hard landscape. Travellers to this terrain, before and after Orpen’s depiction of two typical inhabitants, lifted their eyes to the hills and marvelled at its rugged beauty, while recognising that lands west of the Shannon, where Cromwell corralled the native Irish, was a place of desolation and destitution. Ravaged by poverty, famine and the ‘Land Wars’ of the 1880s, cabins like that in the present painting had been laid waste during the harsh evictions of recent memory. The cottage, Orpen tells us, was located on a bog, about nine miles from his patron’s lodge, and half a mile from the road, with no easy access. On the night of the wake, he arrived at 10 o’clock to find, ‘the grandmother and grandfather sat in their places on each side of the fire, and benches were ranged round the walls, on which the couples were seated.’ Plied with hot tea and poteen, silence reigned until ‘the music man would play some sad air and a few of the couples … would … dance very slowly in a weary, bored sort of way.’ Orpen stayed for four hours, during which time not a word was spoken between those present, before he decamped into the pouring rain. The young emigrant, who had been ‘ignored’ all evening then caught up with him to help him find a safe way to the road, and the following morning he presented her with a photograph of the painting. [3] If the painter’s narrative is to be accepted, it seems likely that the work, begun in 1907, remained at the Maam Cross lodge until the following year, when events surrounding the wake and the gift of the photograph must have occurred. Orpen recorded the progress of the present work in a letter to his wife, Grace, giving her a swift pen drawing of the ensemble in which the roof was too high and the room too large. Nevertheless, he concluded ‘I think it is going well’ (fig 1). In the autumn of 1908, Old John’s Cottage, Connemara was purchased for £200 by Gardenia’s mother, Mrs St George.[4] Clearly the work’s social historical significance is immense. Its authenticity breaks through the Yeatsian ‘motley’ of fairies, myth and legend, and stands with JM Synge in the presentation of a people whose beliefs, customs and culture was regarded as a unique survival.[5] Orpen’s sympathies were not with Horace Plunkett and the Department of Agriculture and Technical Instruction, any more than he approved of ‘intellectuals’ of the George Russell (AE) stripe.[6] At heart he was an ‘eye’ – an observer in whose neutrality before the ancient hearth, lay his power. In visual terms Old John’s Cottage, Connemara provides a necessary corrective to the work of Erskine Nicol, James Brennan and Howard Helmick, who established an ‘Irish’ subgenre of peasant interiors in exhibitions throughout Britain and Ireland fifty years earlier. But where these artists looked for diverting subjects, Orpen adopts a different tradition, and one that can ultimately be traced to French Naturalism of the 1880s. Its impact upon painters in the early days of the New English Art Club and the Slade School of Fine Art, where he would complete his training and become a new generation star exhibitor, was profound.[7] The likes of George Clausen and James Guthrie, had looked for documentary accuracy in their depictions of fieldworkers, often posing them ‘as they live’, in portrait mode, and with no condescension or concession to narrative. This was the generation of Walter Osborne whose Galway expedition of 1892 led to an oil sketch that provides evidence of a similar cottage encounter (fig 2). The moment for such objectivity had never passed, but at the opening of the twentieth century, addressing a people that even by the 1930s was considered to have been ‘locked away for centuries by geography and poverty’, it was becoming both necessary, and urgent. The case would be taken up by Orpen’s pupils, Seán Keating, Charles Lamb and others, in an effort to reveal a prelapsarian world, west of Galway, in which ‘Progress – whatever we mean by it – has broken in vain against grey walls’. Recognising this, Old John’s Cottage, Connemara avoids the obvious later valorisation of the Gael in the works such as Keating’s Aran Fisherman and his Wife, 1916 (Hugh Lane Gallery, Dublin) and Lamb’s Quaint Couple, 1930 (Crawford Art Gallery, Cork), while Paul Henry’s early Achill turf cutters and potato diggers were, in 1908, yet to come. How then do we approach Orpen’s seminal encounter in a cottage in Connemara How does the present painting play against his own heroic self-projection as a ‘man of the west’, clad in an Aran bonnet, leather jerkin and ‘crois’ or woollen sash tied at the waste (fig 3) In Orpen’s Connemara cabin, a stage is set for himself and others to play their parts. Its origins, so far as he – ‘Orpsieboy’ - suburban Dubliner - exiled in London - was concerned, lay in the precision with which the poses of the elderly couple,living on the earthen floor of a barren bog, were rendered. The man’s reverie and the woman’s grave reticence are theirs alone. They were as he found them, and would be still, if he was alive and went back today. Like Grant Wood’s American Gothic, 1930 (Art Institute of Chicago), they are de trop, but at the same time, essential. Kenneth McConkey, November, 2024 [1] Information giving the title of the picture is derived from a letter to Grace, the artist’s wife, quoted in Bruce Arnold, Orpen Mirror to an Age, 1981 (Jonathan Cape), p.239. [2] Sir William Orpen RA, Stories of Old Ireland and Myself, 1924 (Williams and Northgate), p.32; see also Arnold, 1981, p.239. [3] A story confirmed in Arnold 1981. [4] Orpen 1924, p. 36. The picture’s reservation to Mrs St George may also explain its absence rom the artist’s Studio Book. It appears however in Cara Copeland’s handwritten List of Pictures and Drawings by Sir William Orpen RA produced around the time of the artist’s death. [5] Abbey Theatre productions gained tacit approval from Nationalists up until the so-called ‘Playboy riots’ in Dublin in the spring of 1907, just before Orpen made his visit to Galway. [6] For the utopian vision of rural Ireland, see Sir Horace Plunkett KCVO, FRS, Ireland in the New Century, 1904 (Irish Academic Press ed., 1983); also AE (George William Russell), The National Being, Some Thoughts on an Irish Polity, 1916 (Maunsel & Co, Dublin). [7] George Clausen’s A Field Hand, 1884 (Private Collection) and James Guthrie’s A Village Worthy, 1886 (Glasgow Museums), typify this trend.
Sir William Orpen, KBE RA RHA, Irish 1878-1931 - Interior, the Artist's Studio, Chelsea, c.1902-7; pen and ink wash on squared up paper, 23 x 21.4 cm Provenance: Sotheby's, London, The Irish Sale, 18th May 2001, lot 182; Pyms Gallery, London, stock no.H657 and purchased from the above (label on the reverse) Exhibited: Watts Gallery, Guildford, 'William Orpen: Method & Mastery', 2019 Note: This study of the artist’s studio highlights the intimacy of Orpen's craft, capturing the comfortable and stylish environment he created for his sitters. His home in Chelsea was a frequent subject in his work, and featured in multiple works in the collection at the Tate Britain, London. Irish born Sir William Orpen was one of the most important artists working in early 20th century Britain and his work made while an Official War Artist in WWI are now considered amongst the most powerful paintings depicting war ever made. Orpen’s work was synonymous with the endeavours and achievements of Mary and Alan Hobart at Pyms Gallery, as they were instrumental in bringing about a reappraisal of his work in the late 20th century. Due to various feuds with Augustus John and Wyndham Lewis amongst others, Orpen's reputation has been tarnished following his death and was rarely exhibited or written about. From their 1982 ‘The Irish Revival’, the Hobarts exhibited important Irish modern artists at their gallery in London, bringing these figures back to prominence. Orpen’s work was central to their private collection and was featured heavily in the exhibition ‘Championing Irish Art: The Mary and Alan Hobart Collection’ at the Irish Museum of Modern Art in 2023.
Sir William Orpen, KBE RA RHA, Irish 1878-1931 - Walking in the Evening with the Chimpanzee; ink on paper, titled along bottom edge, 32.5 x 20.5 cm Provenance: Catherine Townsend; Pyms Gallery, London, stock no.L938 and purchased from the above on the 18th January 2018 (label on the reverse) Note: While Sir William Orpen is best known for his poignant depictions of war, this work exemplifies his more playful exploration of what it means to be human. With particular focus on character, the artist emphasises facial expressions and gesture to capture the individuality of his subjects. Another work on a similar subject is in the National Gallery Ireland's archives. Irish born Sir William Orpen was one of the most important artists working in early 20th century Britain and his work made while an Official War Artist in WWI are now considered amongst the most powerful paintings depicting war ever made. Orpen’s work was synonymous with the endeavours and achievements of Mary and Alan Hobart at Pyms Gallery, as they were instrumental in bringing about a reappraisal of his work in the late 20th century. Due to various feuds with Augustus John and Wyndham Lewis amongst others, Orpen's reputation has been tarnished following his death and was rarely exhibited or written about. From their 1982 ‘The Irish Revival’, the Hobarts exhibited important Irish modern artists at their gallery in London, bringing these figures back to prominence. Orpen’s work was central to their private collection and was featured heavily in the exhibition ‘Championing Irish Art: The Mary and Alan Hobart Collection’ at the Irish Museum of Modern Art in 2023.
Sir William Orpen, KBE RA RHA, Irish 1878-1931 - Study for smaller version of 'The Western Wedding', c.1914; pencil on paper, 18.3 x 10.2 cm Provenance: Kit Orpen-Casey (the artist's daughter); Pyms Gallery, London, stock no.F968 and purchased from the above on the 5th December 1997 (label attached to the reverse) Note: This preliminary study highlights Orpen's thoughtful approach to composition. 'The Western Wedding' 1914, part of a series of three allegorical works, is believed to have been destroyed during WWII. Other works on this theme are housed in public collections including the National Gallery Ireland and Mildura Arts Centre, Australia. Irish born Sir William Orpen was one of the most important artists working in early 20th century Britain and his work made while an Official War Artist in WWI are now considered amongst the most powerful paintings depicting war ever made. Orpen’s work was synonymous with the endeavours and achievements of Mary and Alan Hobart at Pyms Gallery, as they were instrumental in bringing about a reappraisal of his work in the late 20th century. Due to various feuds with Augustus John and Wyndham Lewis amongst others, Orpen's reputation has been tarnished following his death and was rarely exhibited or written about. From their 1982 ‘The Irish Revival’, the Hobarts exhibited important Irish modern artists at their gallery in London, bringing these figures back to prominence. Orpen’s work was central to their private collection and was featured heavily in the exhibition ‘Championing Irish Art: The Mary and Alan Hobart Collection’ at the Irish Museum of Modern Art in 2023.
Sir William Orpen KBE RA RHA, Irish 1878-1931 - Study for a seated girl (Fatima); ink on paper, 24.5 x 18 cm Provenance: Cynthia O'Connor Gallery, Dublin; Pyms Gallery, London, stock no.E694 and purchased from the above on the 23rd March 1990 (label attached to the reverse) Note: This is a classic example of Orpen's style, characterised by his attention to texture, light and shadow. Often portraying people he knew, Orpen skillfully captures a sense of realism and the distinct personality of his sitters. Works of a similar theme are held in public collections including the Tate Britain, London, Manchester Art Gallery and The Barber Institute of Fine Arts, Birmingham. Irish born Sir William Orpen was one of the most important artists working in early 20th century Britain and his work made while an Official War Artist in WWI are now considered amongst the most powerful paintings depicting war ever made. Orpen’s work was synonymous with the endeavours and achievements of Mary and Alan Hobart at Pyms Gallery, as they were instrumental in bringing about a reappraisal of his work in the late 20th century. Due to various feuds with Augustus John and Wyndham Lewis amongst others, Orpen's reputation has been tarnished following his death and was rarely exhibited or written about. From their 1982 ‘The Irish Revival’, the Hobarts exhibited important Irish modern artists at their gallery in London, bringing these figures back to prominence. Orpen’s work was central to their private collection and was featured heavily in the exhibition ‘Championing Irish Art: The Mary and Alan Hobart Collection’ at the Irish Museum of Modern Art in 2023.
Sir William Orpen KBE RA RHA, Irish 1878-1931 - Study for 'The Poet' (3); pencil on paper, 14.9 x 16 cm Provenance: Kit Orpen-Casey (the artist's daughter); Pyms Gallery, London, stock no.F974 and purchased from the above on the 5th December 1997 (label attached to the reverse) Note: from sketchbook no.152. Sir William Orpen's dynamic mark-making and expressive detail capture the essence of his sitters. These studies depict Sean Keating, a former student of Orpen’s at The Metropolitan School of Art in Dublin, and Orpen’s lover, Evelyn St. George. The finished painting 'The Poet' c.1915 was a major work in the Hobarts' private collection. Irish born Sir William Orpen was one of the most important artists working in early 20th century Britain and his work made while an Official War Artist in WWI are now considered amongst the most powerful paintings depicting war ever made. Orpen’s work was synonymous with the endeavours and achievements of Mary and Alan Hobart at Pyms Gallery, as they were instrumental in bringing about a reappraisal of his work in the late 20th century. Due to various feuds with Augustus John and Wyndham Lewis amongst others, Orpen's reputation has been tarnished following his death and was rarely exhibited or written about. From their 1982 ‘The Irish Revival’, the Hobarts exhibited important Irish modern artists at their gallery in London, bringing these figures back to prominence. Orpen’s work was central to their private collection and was featured heavily in the exhibition ‘Championing Irish Art: The Mary and Alan Hobart Collection’ at the Irish Museum of Modern Art in 2023.
Sir William Orpen KBE RA RHA, Irish 1878-1931 - Scene from the Arabian Nights, possibly 'Nouridden and the Fair'; ink and pencil on paper, signed lower right in pencil 'Orpen', 24 x 28 cm Provenance: Sotheby's, London, 16th May 2002; Pyms Gallery, London, stock no.H782 and purchased from the above (label attached to the reverse) Exhibited: Imperial War Museum, London, 'William Orpen: Politics, Sex and Death', 21st January-2nd May 2005, no.77 Note: This charming example showcases Orpen’s mastery of form. The tales of the 'One Thousand and One Nights' gained mass popularity during the Victorian era and inspired this series of illustrations c.1899. This particular work pays homage to Rembrandt’s etching 'Nude Woman seated on a Mound' c.1631, which was exhibited in the British Museum around this time. Irish born Sir William Orpen was one of the most important artists working in early 20th century Britain and his work made while an Official War Artist in WWI are now considered amongst the most powerful paintings depicting war ever made. Orpen’s work was synonymous with the endeavours and achievements of Mary and Alan Hobart at Pyms Gallery, as they were instrumental in bringing about a reappraisal of his work in the late 20th century. Due to various feuds with Augustus John and Wyndham Lewis amongst others, Orpen's reputation has been tarnished following his death and was rarely exhibited or written about. From their 1982 ‘The Irish Revival’, the Hobarts exhibited important Irish modern artists at their gallery in London, bringing these figures back to prominence. Orpen’s work was central to their private collection and was featured heavily in the exhibition ‘Championing Irish Art: The Mary and Alan Hobart Collection’ at the Irish Museum of Modern Art in 2023.
SIR WILLIAM ORPEN, R.A., R.H.A. (1878-1931). The Merchants Arch, Dublin. pencil, pen, black ink and watercolour on paper 10½ x 8½ in. (26.7 x 21.6 cm.).
SIR WILLIAM ORPEN, R.A., R.H.A. (1878-1931). The Water Nymph. pen and ink, watercolour, gouache and coloured chalks on paper 12 ¾ x 9 5⁄8 in. (32.3 x 24.4 cm.).
SIR WILLIAM ORPEN, R.A., R.H.A. (1878-1931). Woman at her Toilet. pencil, coloured chalks and watercolour on buff paper 13 5⁄8 x 9 in. (34.5 x 22.8 cm.).
SIR WILLIAM ORPEN, R.A., R.H.A. (1878-1931). Some Men and a Picture (Study for Homage to Manet). pencil, ink and watercolour on paper 9 x 7¼ in. (22.8 x 18.4 cm.).
SIR WILLIAM ORPEN, R.A., R.H.A. (1878-1931). The Selecting Jury of the New English Art Club. conté and red chalk on paper 7 1⁄8 x 10 1⁄8 in. (18.1 x 25.6 cm.).
Sir William Orpen, R.A. 1878 - 1931 Mrs. Evelyn St George signed ORPEN (lower right) oil on canvas unframed: 157 by 94.5cm.; 61¾ by 37¼in. framed: 180 by 118cm.; 71 by 46½in. Executed in 1906 and reworked by the artist in 1914. We are grateful to Professor Kenneth McConkey for his kind assistance with the cataloguing of the present work.
SIR WILLIAM ORPEN, RA, RHA IRISH, 1878-1931 CHELSEA WINDOW - PORTRAIT OF GRACE KNEWSTUB, CA. 1901 (GRACE ORPEN READING BY A WINDOW) Oil on canvas Verso labels
Sir William Orpen KBE RA RI RHA (1878-1931) THE REBEL (STUDY OF A MAN RECUMBENT), 1902 oil on board signed lower right; signed, titled, dated and inscribed [Dublin] on reverse h:20.50 w:31.50 in. Provenance: Sotheby's, 7 May 2008, lot 126; Private collection Exhibited: New English Art Club, London, Winter 1902, catalogue no. 51 as Study of a Man Recumbent Literature: 'Art in London', Western Daily Press, 11 November 1902, p. 3; 'Art Pencillings', The Echo, 13 November 1902, p. 1; 'New English Art Club', The Daily Telegraph, 15 November 1902, p. 7 In 1902 William Orpen returned to the Life Room. For three weeks, in the spring of that year, he found gainful employment at his alma mater, the Metropolitan School of Art in Dublin, as a teacher of anatomy. It was a subject that would become core curriculum when in January 1904 he and Augustus John opened their short-lived art school in Chelsea, and the classes would be repeated thereafter in annual summer sessions in Dublin. (1) For the artist, a commitment to a deep understanding of the human form was essential. The precocity demonstrated in his earliest exercises in figure drawing had brought him to London in the first place. In 1897, at the progressive Slade School of Fine Art, he had studied under the austere artist-surgeon, Henry Tonks, in an atelier-style pedagogy in which men and women students were treated alike. (2) Only in front of the male model in a mixed class, did modesty - in the form of a loin cloth - prevail. (3) In November 1902, however, the aura of the schoolroom hung over two canvases shown at the New English Art Club as Study of a Man Recumbent and The Rebel respectively. Although partially abraded, the present work is clearly entitled 'The Rebel' on the reverse and its re-appearance here enables us to clarify the relationship between the two versions of the subject. Both were 'very clever' demonstrations of the artist's 'ability', but their appeal might essentially be to the discerning art student, according to The Echo. At the same time, The Western Daily Press found all four of Orpen's contributions to the exhibition, among 'the most interesting things' in the show and it was left to The Daily Telegraph reviewer to attempt an unravelling of the studies of the 'prone, half-naked' figure. (4) Similar in size, the larger of the two was described as 'an Italian model recumbent and half-stripped' and 'ambitiously styled "The Rebel"', while the Study of a Man Recumbent, was 'more simply and appropriately styled'. 'The touch of true imaginativeness', it continued, … that might transform the studio-piece into the poetic evocation of a romantic incident is conspicuously absent. Nothing in this case transfigures the terre à terre realism. Not for the first or last time was the young artist's unflinching realism the subject of comment. Like Courbet and Manet before him, he would not pander to public taste. It was indeed the case that Orpen was setting a standard of attainment, with no overlay of false sentiment. These were after all académies in the great tradition of nineteenth century French painting, with no holds barred. Delighting in 'intense enjoyment he derived from this mastery', Orpen 'revelled', according to PG Konody, 'in the exercise of his skill, in evoking life out of a dead surface' and, he concluded, 'every stroke of the brush has its definite, expressive function in the modelling of bony and fleshy forms, in the building up of the muscular mechanism …' The title of the Crawford Art Gallery painting - The Rebel - was merely a 'cloak'. (5) It was common at the beginning of the twentieth century for painters to try to sell their art school figure studies, reworked as heroes from history and myth. Setting, costume, circumstantial detail and dramatic lighting were things to be added if the result was to appeal to collectors. (6) It was a transition that these two paintings, hung close to one another in the same show, demonstrated. Two problematic layers in the placing of the present picture within the oeuvre can now be satisfactorily addressed. It is now clear that while the Crawford Art Gallery painting has been retitled The Revolutionary, there were two versions of The Rebel, not one, and it is entirely possible that Study of a Man Recumbent, as the first 'rebel' appeared in the New English catalogue, may well have obtained its 'Man Recumbent' title at the suggestion of the selection committee as a means of distinguishing between the two. (7) When Orpen asked the model to roll on to his back and reveal his face it was thus a significant moment when the long investment in the academy was turned to account. Having taken the £5 prize for figure painting at the Slade in 1899 with A Male Figure standing to the left, he had reason to be proud. Back in the Dublin life room in 1902, the challenge was to step forward, to move on, and to find an expressive potential in the naked male that would eventually lead to St Patrick, three versions of Job and St John the Baptist and other works. (8) As The Rebel (Study of a Man Recumbent, 1902) reveals, there was inevitably, much more to it. Orpen had looked at Rembrandt, had imbibed seventeenth century Spanish Caravaggesque painting and like his brother-in-law, William Rothenstein, had a fascination for Goya. (9) This rich visual heritage glowed through the naked form in 1902. With the knowledge he had attained from looking, from seeing brushstrokes in the prone figure before him, he could do anything. It haunted him until his dying day. (10) Prof Kenneth McConkey, August 2024 1. Bruce Arnold, Orpen, Mirror to an Age, 1981, (Jonathan Cape), p. 163.; for Orpen's pedagogical aids see Robert Upstone, William Orpen, Teaching the Body, 2009 (Tate Britain). 2. Orpen and Augustus John, former 'stars' of the Slade School of Fine Art, opened their Chelsea School of Art at the start of 1904, while their networks, and reputations, were growing rapidly. The school however, lasted into its second year when it was sold on; Arnold 1981, pp. 191-2; see also Emma Chambers, Student Stars at the Slade 1894-1899, Augustus John and William Orpen, 2004 (exhibition catalogue, UCL Art Collections); 3. In most early extant Orpen life studies, produced in men-only classes male genitalia are exposed. The presence of a loin cloth in The Rebel, (Study of a Man Recumbent, 1902) may, without written evidence to prove it, indicate that the present work was produced in a teaching studio with both male and female students present. 4. Orpen exhibited Study of a Man Recumbent, (no 51, the present picture), The Rebel (no 78, Crawford Art Gallery, Cork), Study of Myself (no 91, Glasgow Museums) and The Chess-Players (no 129, Ashmolean Museum, Oxford). 5. P.G. Konody and Sidney Dark, Sir William Orpen, Artist and Man, Seeley Service, London, 1932, p.158; see also Robert Upstone ed., William Orpen, Sex, Politics and Death, 2005 (Imperial War Museum & Philip Wilson Publishers), p. 19. 6. In the case of The Rebel, the muzzle of a 'shotgun' was noted as the only addition justifying its title. The discarded hat may be a later addition. 7. See Lot Essay by Orpen Research Project, Sotheby's 7 May 2008. The presence of two so visually similar works in the New English winter exhibition leaves open the question of Orpen's intention. A prone figure is approached differently when the muzzle of what was described by a contemporary reviewer as a 'shotgun', is visible by its side. 8. Two versions of St Patrick are known (Potteries Museum, Stoke-on-Trent, and unlocated) and three versions of Job (Johannesburg Art Gallery, National Gallery of Ireland and Private Collection). 9. Kenneth McConkey, 'Dark Identities, Orpen's Hispanic Repertory', The British Art Journal, vol VII, no 3, 2006-7, pp. 62-69. Upstone 2005, p. 19 referring to the Crawford Art Gallery picture, suggests that the figure may be a Paris Communard or a rebel from the 1848 Revolution, his form influenced by the pest-house figures of Baron Gros. 10. See for instance, Nude on the Rock, 1930-1 (Private Collection); Eve in the Garden of Eden, 1930-1 and Nude Female Model (Reading on the Seashore), 1930-1 (both Royal Academy of Arts, London).
Sir William Orpen (English, 1878-1931) Portrait of Vera oil on canvas signed, titled and dated "Orpen, Vera, 1912" 30 x 25 inches (sight) 37 1/2 x 32 1/2 inches (frame)
Cheque for SIR WILLIAM ORPEN (born Stillorgan, County Dublin 1878 – died London 1931) Cheque of the London & Westminster Bank ltd, South Kensington Branche from 8th of September 1903, with written text “Pay to William Orpen, Twenty Pounds only”, and cancelled with the purple Lothbury stamp. A very rare piece of history. Cheque uitgeschreven aan Sir William Orpen (Geb. Stillorgan, County Dublin 1878 – overl. London 1931) Gedateerd: 8 september 1903 en “Pay To William Orpen”
Sir William Orpen N.E.A.C., R.A., H.R.H.A. (Irish, 1878-1931) Portrait of Henry Whitworth M.F.H. signed 'William Orpen' (lower right) oil on canvas 127.5 x 102 cm. (50 1/8 x 40 1/8 in.)
SIR WILLIAM ORPEN (BRITISH 1878-1931) PORTRAIT OF MRS. ARTHUR GIBBS WITH A JADE NECKLACEOil on canvasSigned (upper left)78 x 63cm (30½ x 24¾ in.)Painted in October 1921.Provenance:The sitterThence by descent to the present ownersExhibited:London, Royal Academy, 1922, no. 34Literature:P. G. Konody & S. Dark, Sir William Orpen, Artist and Man, London, 1932, p. 272Following her engagement to Arthur Gibbs in November of 1920, Barbara Trevor Williams received a very special wedding gift from her father's business partner and family friend, Eldridge R. Johnson. He wanted to commission a portrait of her by any artist of her choice. There was much debate over which artist she should sit for, but her father's previous experience sitting for Sir William Orpen, coupled with Barbara's own preference for his works, ultimately settled the matter.After her wedding, Barbara sat for Orpen on five or six occasions, building a relationship with the artist, and developing a level of trust. It was during these sessions that she confessed her pregnancy. Orpen took good care of the young lady, ensuring her comfort throughout, even taking her home in a taxi after a particularly long sitting. Upon completion, the portrait was exhibited at the Royal Academy in the Spring of 1922, alongside works by George Clausen and notably John Singer Sargent's Countess of Rocksavage. Despite being well received at the Academy, Orpen wasn't entirely satisfied with the final result. In 1926, Orpen wrote to Barbara, expressing his desire to correct the colour values, which he deemed to be incorrect due to his own illness at the time of painting. Barbara obliged, taking the painting to his studio for adjustments. There, she sat for him twice more as he meticulously corrected the tones of her skin, resulting in the portrait we see today.
Sir William Orpen N.E.A.C., R.A., H.R.H.A. (Irish, 1878-1931) Standing Male Nude signed 'Orpen' (upper right) pencil drawing on paper 59.5 x 40.5cm (23 7/16 x 15 15/16in). with a further pencil on paper portrait, on the reverse, by the same hand
Orpen (William, 1878-1931). Sowing the Seed, The Breeze, & Part of Composition, 1913 * Orpen (William, 1878-1931). Sowing the Seed, The Breeze, & Part of Composition, 1913, 3 photogravures, each with printed title and signature below the image, few faint spots, mount aperture 29.5 x 20 cm (11 1/2 x 8 ins) and similar, uniformly framed and glazed (49.5 x 37 cm and smaller) QTY: (3)
Orpen (William, 1878-1931). After Bathing, Sowing the Seed, The Winner, Kit, & others, 1913 * Orpen (William, 1878-1931). After Bathing, Sowing the Seed, The Winner, Kit, & others, 1913, 12 photogravures (including 2 duplicates), each with printed title and signature below the image, published by the Chenil Gallery, Chelsea (blind stamp to upper left corner of each sheet), some scattered spotting, plate size 32.5 x 23 cm (12 3/4 x 9 ins, or inverse) and similar, each with loose tissue guard, sheet size 58 x 45.5 cm (or inverse), contained together in original publisher's board and cloth portfolio, gilt-lettered title 'Drawings by William Orpen' to front cover, Chenil Gallery label inside front cover, remants of cloth ties to fore-edges, the portfolio 60.5 x 48 cm QTY: (1) NOTE: The other titles included are: The Breeze (2 copies), The Bather, On the Cliff, The Draughtsman and His Model, The Yacht Race, Part of Composition (2 copies). Kit was the family name for Orpen's daughter Christine.
William Newenham Montague Orpen (1878 - 1931) Oil on canvas, signed upper right, measures 20 x 16 and 24 x 20 inches w/ frame. One of the greatest painters in the history of Irish art, Sir William Newenham Montague Orpen, was a skillful and sympathetic Irish portraitist of the traditional school of academic art. During a lifetime devoted to portrait art, he painted about 600 portraits, including those of David Lloyd-George (British Prime Minister), Woodrow Wilson (US President) and Sir Douglas Haig (British commander in WWI).
SIR WILLIAM ORPEN RA (IRISH 1878-1931) VATTETOT-SUR-MER titled, dedicated and dated VATTETOT / SUR MER / 1899 / WILL ROTHENSTEIN and ALICE ROTHENSTEIN lower centre gouache and watercolour on silk 16.5 x 37cm; 6 1/2 x 14 1/2in (fan shaped) 51.5 x 64cm; 20 1/4 x 25 1/4in (framed) Property from an English Private Collection Provenance William and Alice Rothenstein, London (a wedding present from the artist) Mrs Rachel Ward (née Rothenstein; 1903-1989, inherited from the above) Thence by descent to the present owner Exhibited London, The Leicester Galleries, The Collection of Sir William Rothenstein, 1946, no. 60 The present work, a wedding present from Orpen to William Rothenstein and his new bride Alice (née Newstub), celebrates the couple on holiday with friends in Vattetot on the Normandy coast. Rothenstein had married Alice on 11th June 1899. The figures depicted from top left are: Albert Rothenstein (later Rutherston) and William Orpen, Alice and William Rothenstein, Grace Knewstub (Alice’s sister, later Mrs. William Orpen) and John Herbert Everett, a fellow Slade student with Albert and Orpen. In the lower medallions are Augustus John (left) and Charles Conder (right). Orpen had first met William Rothenstein through his brother Albert when he was a fellow student at the Slade. Together with Augustus John the trio formed what William jocularly referred to as 'the three musketeers'. William and Alice had discovered Vattetot on a bicycling trip out from Dieppe. In his memoires William writes: 'On our return to London we spoke of Vattetot to John and Conder, who, with Orpen and my brother [Albert], proposed to join us there next summer. When the summer came, it was a large party which descended upon Vattetot; never had so many easels and paint-boxes been seen. It was a glorious time, divided between painting and play.' (William Rothenstein, Men and Memories, London, 1931, vol. 1, p. 347)
