Male Nude by William Orpen for sale at Robert Upstone Ltd.
Asking price £5,500.
Life Study by Sir William Orpen, signed by the artist and dated.
William Orpen (1878-1931).
Life Study 1896.
Pencil and charcoal on wove paper prepared with a buff wash
28 1⁄2 x 18 1⁄2 inches (72.3 x 47 centimeters)
Signed ‘W. Open | Dec: 96’ b.r. and blind stamped ‘E.S.K.’ lower left.
PROVENANCE:
Presented by William Open to his next door neighbour at Oriel, Stillorgan; Orpen’s godson; by descent.
“Open was the star pupil of the Metropolitan School of Art in Dublin. This drawing was made in his last year there, when he was eighteen. That year Orpen won the Gold Medal the national schools competition for a set of three drawings made in the life class. The ‘E.S.K.’ blind stamp on the present drawing shows that it was received by the South Kensington Schools that oversaw the Metropolitan, and it possible this is one of the three works for which he won his medal (one of the others is reproduced in Bruce Arnold’s biography, p.33” – see below).
A Nude Boy by William Orpen (National Gallery Ireland 7740). Not for sale.
Dated 1897 on exhibition label 69.5 x 46.5 cms, black chalk on paper Presented, Mr C. McGonigal, 1975.
Here’s another drawing by William Orpen of the same model (see image 1) and dated the same year 1897. This one is owned by the National College of Art & Design, Dublin which used to be The Dublin Metropolitan School of Art which the Stillorgan born artist attended as a student.
Male Nude by Sir William Orpen 1897. Not for sale.
For sale details (image 1) please contact: Robert Upstone, 15a Clifford Street, Mayfair, London, W1S 4JZ.
Ph: 07950 075 934.
www.robertupstone.com
Post by Dominic Lee.