Sir William Orpen, R.H.A., R.A. (1878-1931)
Sir William Orpen, R.H.A., R.A. (1878-1931)

I shall draw myself in my own way

Details
Sir William Orpen, R.H.A., R.A. (1878-1931)
I shall draw myself in my own way
inscribed 'I shall draw myself in my own way and am quite tall I look much finer/this way than if I worked one of your ideas, no one knows oneself/like oneself if one hasn't got a valet' (upper centre)
ink
8¼ x 7 in. (20.9 x 17.8 cm.)
Provenance
Mrs Evelyn St George, and by descent.

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Lot Essay

Orpen was known as a prolific self-portraitist, and would often discuss ideas with Mrs St George, including his Self Portrait, The Man from Aran (1916), to which this item possibly relates. However the illustration and comment is also very revealing about how Orpen felt about representations of himself generally, and may go a long way to explain why there are so few portraits of him by other artists. No one could know him like he did.
The Orpen Research Project.

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