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  • WAR WORKS OF WILLIAM ORPEN AT NATIONAL GALLERY

    To mark the centenary of William Orpen’s visit to France as an official war artist the National Gallery of Ireland is exhibiting some of his war works.  Serving with the British Army he recorded the aftermath of the Battle of the Somme, a lifeless wasteland, the result of prolonged trench warfare, mining and heaving bombardment.

    In his 1921 memoir An Onlooker in France the artist wrote of the horror he had experienced. Drawing on this text the exhibition  explores a selection of his aftermath paintings.  The artist Garrett Phelan was commissioned by the National Gallery to produce art in response to Orpen’s experience and has created works in sound and clay acquired directly from the Somme. Aftermath, the War Landscapes of William Orpen, runs until February 11.

    Sir William Orpen – Sketch in a desolate landscape

    Sir William Orpen – Man with a cigarette

    Sir William Orpen – Thiepval II

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