SIR WILLIAM ORPEN (IRISH, 1878-1931)

Footnote
The Merchant's Arch, Dublin with tinkers and bears forms part of a body of work by Orpen executed in the first few years of the twentieth century which resulted in two seminal oil paintings, The Knackers Yard (National Gallery of Ireland) and The Dublin Brawl (Christies, 12 May 2005, lot 73).  Dublin's characterful underclass provided great inspiration for Orpen, particularly the performing bears and their keepers.  The setting of the Merchant's Arch, an ancient thoroughfare which connects Crown Alley to the Quays and the River Liffey, was used in a number of other compositions from the same period.  Muriel Clutton, from the family of estate agents and grandmother of the present owner, studied at The Slade School and sat for William Nicholson.