Beschreibung:

Artist: Sir William Orpen RHA (1878-1931) Title: Portrait of Grace Orpen (née Knewstub) (c.1901) Medium: colour chalk on dark grey paper Size: 23.80 x 15.80cm (9.4 x 6.2in) Framed Size: 52.4 x 37.3cm (20.6 x 14.7in) Provenance: John Postle Heseltine's posthumous sale (‘The Celebrated Collection of the late J. P. Heseltine, Esq.’), London, Sotheby’s, 27th-29th May 1935 part of lot 344; R. E. A. Wilson (Savile Gallery), London; Wyndham T. Vint, Bradford, Yorkshire; Private Collection and thence by descent; Christie's, London - Modern British Art, 29th September 2020, lot 51; Private Collection Exhibited: Possibly London, Carfax & Co., Paintings and Drawings by William Orpen November 1901, No.7 (‘Two Portraits’, priced at £6); Possibly Brighton, Public Art Galleries, Watercolours and Drawings by Modern Artists, May - June 1937; Possibly Kingston upon Hull, Ferens Art Gallery, Modern Paintings and Drawings, April - May 1956. a#morebtn { color: #de1d01; } a#morebtn:hover { cursor: pointer;} Bears label: 'This Picture is the Property of Wyndham T. Vint, Commercial Bank Buildings, Bradford, Yorks.' On the label is inscribed 'Portrait . . Sir William Orp . . .' A label on the back of this drawing confirms it was once owned by Wyndham T. Vint, of Bradford, Yorkshire. A collector of twe... Read more Sir William Orpen Lot 32 - 'Portrait of Grace Orpen (née Knewstub) (c.1901)' Estimate: €4,000 - €6,000 Bears label: 'This Picture is the Property of Wyndham T. Vint, Commercial Bank Buildings, Bradford, Yorks.' On the label is inscribed 'Portrait . . Sir William Orp . . .' A label on the back of this drawing confirms it was once owned by Wyndham T. Vint, of Bradford, Yorkshire. A collector of twentieth century art, and occasional film producer, Benjamin Wyndham Theodore Vint (1882-1959) also owned works by Wyndham Lewis Walter Sickert, Augustus John and Maurice de Vlaminck Bradford was also the home city of William Rothenstein who, in June 1899, married the actress Alice Knewstub. The couple honeymooned in Dieppe, before renting a cottage in the Normandy village of Vattetot-sur-Mer. They enjoyed their time there, inviting artist friends to join them. Among those who journeyed to Vattetot were Alice's younger sister Grace Knewstub (1877-1948), and her friend Albert, Rothenstein's younger brother. Also invited were William Orpen and Augustus John fellow-students of Albert at the Slade School of Art. The Anglo-Australian painter Charles Condor, who had been best man at Rothenstein's wedding, also made the trip. A brilliant student, that year Orpen was working on his The Play Scene from Hamlet, which would win a prize at the Slade, while Augustus John was also working on a scene from the same play. The group remained at Vettetot until late September. The following year, with Grace now modelling for paintings by Orpen, the couple married. They honeymooned in West Cork, staying at the Orpen family holiday home at Pearson's Bridge. An early work in Orpen's oeuvre, this chalk portrait, with its ethereal, dream-like quality, evokes the work of the Pre-Raphaelites. It also echoes the contemplative pose adopted by Alice Knewstub, in a photograph taken around 1901 by George Charles Beresford (Tate). Orpen was out to impress his in-laws: Grace's father, the artist Walter Knewstub had worked as studio assistant to Dante Gabriel Rossetti while her mother Emily had modelled for Rossetti. It was a busy time for Orpen; in November 1901 he had his first exhibition, at the Carfax Gallery, which had been founded by Rothenstein, and the following year, along with Augustus John he set up a teaching atelier in Chelsea. From then until 1914 he was also a visiting teacher at the Metropolitan School of Art in Dublin, where he influenced a generation of Irish artists, notably Sean Keating. By 1908, whatever happiness had existed between Gra