The National Gallery of Ireland has announced the acquisition of a significant archive of over 400 letters and drawings by one of Ireland’s most important and influential twentieth-century artists. Sir William Orpen.
This extraordinary collection, recently acquired by the NGI through Whyte’s Fine Art Auctioneers in Dublin (who acquired the material directly from the Orpen family), comprises a variety of material spanning much of the artist’s life, from his student years through to his death in 1931. It contains some 200 of Orpen’s illustrated letters and 200 manuscript letters to his wife Grace, penned between 1899-1928. The collection also includes finished sketches and drawings, sketchbooks, photographs and other personal memorabilia.
The illustrated letters, in particular, form an important part of Orpen’s artistic oeuvre and the collection in total offers great insight into the life of a seminal figure in the evolution of Irish culture at the beginning of the twentieth century. Much of this material has not been seen by the public, with many of the letters undocumented or unpublished; the collection will be accessioned into the Gallery’s ESB Centre for the Study of Irish Art, where it will be catalogued and made available for future research and public study.
“We are delighted to add this collection of material by Orpen to the Gallery’s already extensive William Orpen Archive," says Sean Rainbird, Director of the National Gallery of Ireland. "The material is one of unique aesthetic and research value and will support and contribute to new and future research associated with one of Ireland’s most important and influential artists.”
The Gallery already holds over 360 letters from William Orpen to Evelyn St George, as well as a collection of key oil paintings and works on paper.
