SIR WILLIAM ORPEN (1878-1931) NUDE GIRL READING oil on canvas 90x74cm
In May 2010 a hitherto unknown painting by Sir William Orpen turned up on BBC television’s Antiques Roadshow. Called The Refugee, it was a version of a painting the artist had made of his French mistress, Yvonne Aubicq, daughter of the mayor of Lille. Painted in 1917 when Orpen was an official war artist working for the British government and therefore supposed only to be painting approved subjects, on its reappearance five years ago the work was valued at £250,000.
Another Orpen picture of Yvonne Aubicq is due to be sold by Sotheby’s in London on 21 October. This is one of a group painted some years after the war had ended, when the artist returned to France and produced a series of works showing his mistress naked. Some of these, like The Disappointing Letter, have a narrative content but others are pure celebrations of the nude figure. Early Morning is one example of this, and so too is the picture being offered by Sotheby’s, Nude Girl Reading. Like the others, it features letters, perhaps those written by Orpen who throughout his life was an inveterate correspondent. In this instance Yvonne Aubicq is sitting on a fauteuil, legs on the seat and head down as she reads. It’s an entirely private moment, almost an intrusion since she is so engaged in her own concerns and paying no attention to the viewer. Like Early Morning, we look down on the sitter, thereby increasing the sense of interruption. Nude Girl Reading will be the centrepiece of a return by Sotheby’s to auctions exclusively devoted to Irish art, first begun in 1995 but discontinued during the recession. The work carries a pre-sale estimate of £300,000- £500,000
