First World War Correspondence

Part of the Irish Archive

Description

File contains 71 letters and envelopes, illustrated and non-illustrated, documenting William Orpen's correspondence with his wife Grace, and their daughters, during his time working as a war artist in France and Italy, beginning in 1917. Topics discussed include news of Orpen's experiences in the war and his personal encounters of bombings and shellings. He also describes members of the Allied Forces he has been commissioned to paint, and records his meetings and sittings with them. Notable figures include President Woodrow Wilson, Prime Minister Winston Churchill, General Douglas Haig, and General Kishe, amongst others. Additional commissions are also noted throughout the correspondence. The day-to-day realities of camp life are also recorded, as Orpen describes food rations, weather and living conditions, censorship, and illnesses. He himself writes of suffering with flu and scabies. Correspondence also touches on life in England, Grace Orpen's wellbeing in Orpen's absence, and the management of their home and commercial life in the city. Later letters also document Orpen's work at the Paris Peace Conference in 1919, and the publication of his book An Onlooker in France 1917-1919.

Creator

Orpen, Sir William, 1878-1931

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Related topics

Orpen, Sir William, 1878-1931