Orpen, Sir William (1878-1931), was an Irish painter. He created some of his best-known works at the front in 1917 and 1918 during World War I while serving as an official war artist. These works included paintings, water colors, and drawings. He was official painter for the British delegation at the Paris peace conference in 1919. During the 1920’s, Orpen became one of the most successful and fashionable portrait painters in England.
Orpen was born on Nov. 27, 1878, in Stillorgan, near Dublin, Ireland. He studied at the Metropolitan School of Art in Dublin from 1891 to 1897 and at the Slade School of Fine Art in London from 1897 to 1899. Orpen was knighted in 1918. He died on Sept. 29, 1931.
