Two works by Sir William Orpen coming up for auction at Morgan O’Driscoll – 4th March 2025.
Lot: 14
Charlie’s Bar – an illustrated letter by Sir William Orpen (1928).
Signed lower right: ‘NEPRO’ (Orpen backways).
MEDIUM: pencil and charcoal on paper.
SIZE: 27 x 20cm (10.6 x 7.9in).
FRAMED SIZE: 43 x 37cm (16.9 x 14.6in).
PROVENANCE: Private Collection.
Inscribed: ‘If there is anything left of this drawing left by the time you get it and you want it “for keeps” – pour milk all over it then take it upstairs and lay it flat under a red blotting pad and the whole thing will come off – there will be nothing left!!!’
Estimate: €800 – €1,200.
Link to auction item: https://www.morganodriscoll.com/art/sir-william-orpen-charlies-bar-1928/105183
Lot: 229
A limited edition etching of George Russell (AE) by Sir William Orpen – numbered 35/40.
AE was an Irish writer, editor, critic, poet, painter and Irish nationalist. He was also a writer on mysticism.
Estimate: €300 to €500.
Inscribed: in another hand W.O.
MEDIUM: Limited edition print of an etching.
SIZE: 22½ x 17½cm (8.9 x 6.9in)
FRAMED SIZE: 41 x 35cm (16.1 x 13.8in)
PROVENANCE: Collection of Bruce Arnold.
LITERATURE: ‘Orpen, Mirror to an Age’ by Bruce Arnold, illustrated page 128.
Link to auction item: https://www.morganodriscoll.com/art/sir-william-orpen-george-russell/105170
Post by Dominic Lee, Orpen Research Archives.