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Major Sir William Newenham Montague Orpen (1878-1931) Orpen was an Irish painter. He was born in Stillorgan, County Dublin. We know nothing about his childhood at this time. He trained at the Metropolitan School and at the Slade School in London. At the time, great emphasis was placed on a study of old masters. Until World War I, Orphen was primarily known for his portraits of the well to do of Victorian and Edwardian Britain. He is widely regarded as a superb draughtsman. He was much in demand for his portraits which were mostly done in his London studio. Despite working in England and painting mostly English portraits, Orphen did not lose interest in Ireland. In fact he was aart of the Celtic revival in Ireland. This was the visual aspect of the better known revival of Galeic as a new national language. He did work in Ireland as well as London. He was friendly with Hugh Lane and a major influence on a generation of Irish realist painters such as Sean Keating. One of Orphen's best known portraits is the portrait of "Master Spottiswoode", a 12-year old from a distinguished English family. Note the brown smocjk/tunic with knee breeches and, interestingly, red long stockings. Orpen became the official painter of World War I in 1917 and was made a Knight of the British Empire for his services. Ireland as a part of the United Kingdom was involved in World War I. He travelled to the front and sketched and painted many of the horrors that he saw there--trench warfare with its corpses and bloodshed and massive destruction. Later Orpen became a member of the Royal Academy of Art.
Major Sir William Newenham Montague Orpen was born in Stillorgan, County Dublin (1876). We know nothing about his childhood at this time.
He trained at the Metropolitan School and at the Slade School in London. At the time, great emphasis was placed on a study of old masters.
Until World War I, Orphen was primarily known for his portraits of the well to do of Victorian and Edwardian Britain. Tghere are a lot of paintings of the local gentry. He is widely regarded as a superb draughtsman. He was much in demand for his portraits which were mostly done in his London studio. His work was not limited to portraits, but surely his greatest works were portraits. Many beautifuly convey the subjects personality and character. Notice how he has pointed Master Spottiswoode's hair as it mighthave appeared normally rather than after mother may have carefully combed it for a portrait. Despite working in England and painting mostly English portraits, Orphen did not lose interest in Ireland. In fact he was part of the Celtic revival in Ireland. This was the visual aspect of the better known revival of Galeic as a new national language. He did work in Ireland as well as London. He was friendly with Hugh Lane and a major influence on a generation of Irish realist painters such as Sean Keating. His work in Ireland is interesting, but do not rise to the brillance of his portrait work. Orpen became the official painter of World War I (1917). He was made a Knight of the British Empire for his services. Ireland as a part of the United Kingdom was involved in World War I. He travelled to the front and sketched and painted many of the horrors that he saw there--trench warfare with its corpses and bloodshed and massive destruction. He painted many pictures of the horrors of the battlefield which are now held in the Imperial War Museum in London. One of his war paitning cause uproar as it depicted a coffin draped with the Union Jack with two soldiers wearing very tattered clothing. It was considered too much for the feelings of the British Public at the time and he had to paint out the soldiers before the London Gallery would accept it.
Later Orpen became a member of the Royal Academy of Art.
One of Orphen's best known portraits is the portrait of "Master Spottiswoode", a 12-year old from a distinguished English family. We know nothing about the boy and his family. Helooks English rather than Irish. One aspect of this boy that is likely given his age and when he was painted. From his clothing we should guess the early 1900s. Thus he almost surely would have been caught up in the malestorm of World War I which Orphen painted so graphically later in his career. It is horrifying to connect these images with this boy. The portrait is a certainly a masterpiece. It is a brilliant depiction of childhood as few artists have managed to achieve. Although the clothing is somewhat distracting, Orphen has beautifully captured a realistic, insightful vision of boyhood just before adolesence. Note how the hair is just as a boy might be found with it and not after mother had carefully combed it. Note the redish-brown smock or tunic with knee breeches and, interestingly, red long stockings. We are not sure when this portrait was painted, but given his active period would have been around the turn-of-the 20th century or very early in the century. The outfit the boy is wearing is not commonly seen in the photographic record of the time when formal dress was more common. There seems to be two possibilities. We note boys at the British hospital schools wearing tunics, knee breeches, and colored stockings at the time. His tunic or smock, however, seems different, more informal than the images we have seen from these schools.
And a boy of his class at age 12 would have probably attended a preparatory school at age 12 preparing to attend ca prestigious public school.
More likely is the possibility that the boy lived on a country estate. Smocks were worn by rural agricultural workers in the 19th century and his mother may have adopted this dress as the boy's casual wear. What seems strange is that casual wear would have been selected for a formal portrait by a well-respected artist. Perhaps readers may have a better understanding of the boy's clothing. A British reader writes, "One portrait which I think is a very striking picture with the colours of the back drop, blending and contrasting with colours of his smock, knee pants and stockings, broken by the white 'vest' under his chin."
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