Sir William Orpen
(1878-1931), Painter, Royal AcademicianSitter in 28 portraits
Artist associated with 29 portraits
Irish-born Orpen showed exceptional talent at a young age and went on to train at the Slade School of Art under Henry Tonks with Augustus John and Spencer Gore. He became one of the leading British war artists, capturing scenes from the Western Front and painting portraits of those serving there. He was knighted in 1918, the year he presented his war paintings to the British nation. He remained in France to create portraits of political and military leaders to mark the Versailles Peace Conference in Paris (1919), including A Peace Conference at the Quai d'Orsay and The Signing of the Peace in the Hall of Mirrors (Imperial War Museum). Following the war, he continued as a successful portrait painter.
by Sir William Orpen
pencil, circa 1898
NPG 5267
by Sir William Orpen
oil on canvas, exhibited 1900
NPG 4252
by Sir William Orpen
pencil
NPG 2565
by Sir William Orpen
oil on canvas, 1903
NPG 5596
Group associated with the New English Art Club
by Sir William Orpen
pencil, black chalk (or charcoal), pen, ink and watercolour, circa 1904
NPG 6345
Sir Hugh Percy Lane; John Millington Synge; W.B. Yeats; Augusta, Lady Gregory
by Sir William Orpen
pen and ink, 1907
NPG 4676
by Sir William Orpen
chalk, 1909
NPG 2791
The Selecting Jury of the New English Art Club, 1909
by Sir William Orpen
oil on canvas, 1909
NPG 2556
by Sir William Orpen
pencil and wash, 1910
NPG 2638
by Sir William Orpen
oil on canvas, circa 1910
NPG 5982
Ganga Singh, Maharaja of Bikaner
by Sir William Orpen
oil on canvas, 1919
On display in Room 19 on Floor 2 at the National Portrait Gallery
NPG 4188
Edgar Algernon Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 1st Viscount Cecil of Chelwood
by Sir William Orpen
oil on canvas, 1919
NPG 4184
Edward George Villiers Stanley, 17th Earl of Derby
by Sir William Orpen
oil on canvas, 1919
NPG 4185
Maurice Pascal Alers Hankey, 1st Baron Hankey
by Sir William Orpen
oil on canvas, 1919
NPG 4650
Charles Hardinge, 1st Baron Hardinge of Penshurst
by Sir William Orpen
oil on canvas, 1919
NPG 4179
by Sir William Orpen
oil on canvas, 1919
NPG 2639
Rufus Isaacs, 1st Marquess of Reading
by Sir William Orpen
oil on canvas, 1919
NPG 4180
Charles Sackville-West, 4th Baron Sackville
by Sir William Orpen
oil on canvas, 1919
NPG 4649
Comments back to top
We are currently unable to accept new comments, but any past comments are available to read below.
If you need information from us, please use our Archive enquiry service . Please note that we cannot provide valuations. You can buy a print or greeting card of most illustrated portraits. Select the portrait of interest to you, then look out for a Buy a Print button. Prices start at around £6 for unframed prints, £16 for framed prints. If you wish to license an image, select the portrait of interest to you, then look out for a Use this image button, or contact our Rights and Images service. We digitise over 8,000 portraits a year and we cannot guarantee being able to digitise images that are not already scheduled.