Sir William Orpen

British 1878-1931

SIR WILLIAM ORPEN KBE, RA, RHA

Orpen was a fine draughtsman and a popular painter of portraits. During the First World War he was the most prolific of the official artists sent by Britain to the Western Front. Most of these works, 138 in all, he donated to the British government and they are now in the collection of the Imperial War Museum. He was made a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 1918 King's birthday honours list, and also elected a member of the Royal Academy of Arts, his determination to serve as a war artist cost him both his health and his social standing in England.