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William Orpen

3 of 24 portraits of Sir William Orpen

© National Portrait Gallery, London

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William Orpen

by Sir William Orpen
pencil and wash, 1910
13 in. (330 mm) diameter
Given by Mrs C. Philippa Holliday (formerly Mrs A.W. Rich), 1933
Primary Collection
NPG 2638

Sitterback to top

  • Sir William Orpen (1878-1931), Painter, Royal Academician. Sitter in 28 portraits, Artist or producer associated with 29 portraits.

Artistback to top

  • Sir William Orpen (1878-1931), Painter, Royal Academician. Artist or producer associated with 29 portraits, Sitter in 28 portraits.

Linked publicationsback to top

  • Rideal, Liz, Insights: Self-portraits, 2005, p. 25 Read entry

    Orpen was an original, technically brilliant and successful artist from Ireland. In this self-portrait, the green suggests a bilious fragility and transparency. Between Orpen’s jawbone and his collar can be seen the hole left by the compass used to draw the circle. The work features a number of circles to connect the circular mirror conceit: this visual pun is reiterated as the artist reveals that he is working on the same picture that we are looking at – which in turn is the image he sees of himself in the mirror.

  • Saywell, David; Simon, Jacob, Complete Illustrated Catalogue, 2004, p. 471

Events of 1910back to top

Current affairs

George V succeeds Edward VII to the throne.
The Liberals win narrow victories after calling two General Elections following escalating tension between the Liberal administration and the Lords reached crisis point with the Lords' unprecedented rejection of Lloyd George's 1909 budget. The budget included tax reform intended to fund social reform and a rearmament programme, but was seen by the Conservative Lords as an assault on property.

Art and science

The critic and Bloomsbury group member Roger Fry curates a ground-breaking and, at the time, shocking exhibition in London's Grafton Galleries, Manet and the Post-Impressionists. The exhibition introduces the work of contemporary European artists to the London art establishment, including Manet, Cezanne, Gaugin and Van Gogh, and Fry became a champion of modern art, coining the term 'Post-Impressionism'.

International

Japan annexes Korea as a colony, an indication of Japan's ambitious imperialist aims and attempts to control trade and influence in East Asia. Japanese occupation of Korea lasted until 1945, after Japan surrendered to the Allied forces at the end of the Second World War and Korea was divided in two by the United States and the Soviet Union.

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