armistice

William Newenham Montague Orpen was born on 27 Nov 1878 at Stillorgan, Co Dublin. After training at the Metropolitan School of Art Dublin from age 13, and from 18 at the Slade School of Art London, William Orpen took up a studio in the Royal Hospital Road, Chelsea and exhibiting at the Chenil Gallery, London. He painted portraits of over 600 members of the wealthier classes and their families. He also painted in Ireland and was a leading artist in the 'Celtic revival' movement. In 1901 William Orpen married Grace Knewstub in 1901, with whom he had 3 daughters; Mary (1902); Christine Grace Violet (1906); and Diana Evelyn (1913). However, an incorrigible womaniser, he later left his wife for Madame Saint George, a married woman whose portrait he had painted in 1912, (see www.flickr.com/photos/32357038@N08/5123476715/ ), and returned to Dublin to teach at the Metropolitan School. However William and Grace never divorced and when William was Knighted in 1918 she became Lady Orpen. Her portrait is at www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/orpen-lady-orpen-n03549 In 1916 William Orpen was appointed as an official war artist by the Quartermaster General, Sir John Cowans. He was given a commission in the rank of Major in the Army Service Corps to lend him authority at the front. His evocative works in France and Flanders, where he sketched and painted every day, include Zonnebeke; A Highlander passing a grave; and Village: Evening. The experience left an indelible impression on him and his illustrated memoir of the war was published in 1921 as "An Onlooker in France, 1917–1919". At the Paris Peace Talks, 1919-20, William Orpen, having survived the Spanish Influenza and now Knighted with a KBE for his war artistry, painted notable personalities including David Lloyd George, Field Marshal Douglas Haig; Admiral David Beatty; Sir Henry Wilson; and Major James McCudden. His most controversial painting "To the Unknown British Soldier Killed in France", 1923, met such disparaging comments from establishment art critics that he subsequently painted out the figures of soldiers flanking the central coffin. This picture was accepted by the Imperial War Museum in 1927. www.memorial-caen.fr/10EVENT/EXPO1418/gb/texte/097text.html William Orpen died in 1931 aged 53 of poor health and alcoholism.//

good picture remember day first world war one of strong of brave person many pass way the glory of angle peacefully . :|

Help piece together the Life Stories of more than 8 million men and women who made a contribution during the First World War at www.livesofthefirstworldwar.org/

I'd be lost!

Which one goes where? ;-)

I wonder if they ever were all labelled, or whether you were just supposed to know?

Hello Just thought I'd let you know that one of our associate curators, Rebecca Smith, has selected this photograph as his February Flickr Favourite on our blog. - Emma

Massive complexity.

The Story Behind This Sculpture The original cake was specially made for the Mayoral Victory Ball held at Maryborough’s Town Hall to celebrate the end of the First World War. The original photograph was taken from SLQ’s collection of the night on April 29, 1919, in Maryborough. The night’s program featured dancing, music provided by a ‘Naval Band’ and a 30-foot model airship suspended from the ceiling. The main attraction however was the ‘Peace Cake’. The Maryborough Chronicle reported its intricate details: “Messrs Stellmach and Sons, the well-known bakers, were commissioned on short notice to prepare a cake worthy of the occasion, and in fulfilling the order have combined skill and ingenuity, and marked artistic taste, with most pleasing results. The cake stands about 5 feet high (1.5 meters), is approximately 24 inches in diameter (61cms), and weighs from three-quarters to one hundredweight (38 to 51kgs).” The principal sculptor Ms Elizabeth Hersey together with colleague Marni Koster completed the replica cake with the help of local cake decorators and sculptors. Every piece has been painstakingly made by hand, right down to each piping replica. Elizabeth conducted extensive research on the original cake to ensure each embellishment and element is historically correct. Elizabeth specializes in detailed bronze wildlife sculptures, cast in small limited editions. Marni creates free-form and abstract sculptures and has exhibited locally. Source: maryboroughmuralproject.org/1461-2/