My brother and myself have a pint in Davy Byrne's, Dublin

Details

Sir William Orpen, R.H.A., R.A. (1878-1931)
My brother and myself have a pint in Davy Byrne's, Dublin
inscribed and dated 'PORTRAITS OF RICHARD & WILLIAM ORPEN. DUBLIN DECEMBER. 1906.' (lower centre)
black crayon
12 7/8 x 8 1/8 in. (32.8 x 20.6 cm.)

Provenance

The Artist's Family.

Literature

W. Orpen, Stories of Old Ireland and Myself, London, 1924, illustrated opposite p. 44.
B. Arnold, Orpen Mirror to an Age, London, 1981, illustrated p. 168.

Special notice

No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 17.5% will be added to the buyer's premium which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis.

Lot Essay

The setting is Davy Byrne's pub in Duke Street, Dublin, and is probably one of the back rooms mentioned in Stories, pp. 44-45. From Joseph's O'Connor's description of the summer classes which Orpen taught at the Metropolitan School of Art it is possible to imagine the artist having a quick pint with his brother during class, hiding himself away in a back room of the pub (see B. Arnold, op. cit., pp. 168-69 and 273).

There is at least one other version of this drawing, a copy of which can be seen hanging in Davy Byrne's today.

The Orpen Research Project

More from The Irish Sale

View All