[Cropped letter from William Orpen to Mrs St George with a sketch of the artist on the reverse]

Handwritten letter which has been cropped to remove the top half of the letter. Orpen sent this letter to Mrs St George while visiting the west of Ireland. He writes that he hopes she and her family 'are not bitterly disapointed at the portait'. On the reverse is a self-portrait sketch similar to the oil painting 'The man of Aran' (1909).

(1909)

Ink on paper

In the text Orpen mentions 'the boat house' which may suggest that the portrait he is writing about is the 1909 portrait of 'Gardenia', which he painted in the boat house of Screebe Lodge. Orpen painted the self-portrait 'The Man of Aran' in 1909.

Private Collection

Prints & Drawings Department

 

recto

Land" Etc. [Lucerne] - is
how any sane people can live in such a
place - I hope you have found your family
all well and that they were not bitterly
disappointed at the portrait now they see it
in their own land of light - the light must be
rather different to Screebe - especially the boat
house light with Pat blocking most of what
there was out = I suppose our friend Buster
is back in Lester's (bosom)by now - I see
by the mornings papers that the Dublin season
is a great failure - apparently there are only
about 2 noble Lords there and the [miss arnotts!]

verso

has just gone - he sits for hours reading a
book and does not take the slightest notice
of me or the painting so all is very peaceful
[&] calm your sincerely
William Orpen

Sir William Orpen, Irish artist, born in Dublin, Orpen trained at the Dublin Metropolitan School of Art before moving to London to study at the Slade School of Fine Art. He remained in London and became a highly successful portrait and subject painter. Appointed Official War Artist in 1917, Orpen left for France and was stationed at Amiens and the Somme Battlefields. He returned to London after the war and remained there until his death.

Florence Evelyn St George, eldest child of New York banker George F Baker. In 1906 while married to Howard Bligh St George she began a relationship with Sir William Orpen.