IN 1917, the Irish artist William Orpen was appointed an official war artist and sent to the Western Front with a strict brief from the British War Office as to who and what he was to paint.
The intention behind the commissioning of war artists was to provide eyewitness images of the war to illustrate publications. One of Orpen’s works, depicting Lieutenant-Colonel of the Irish Guards, George Henry Morris (1872-1914 ) from An Spidéal, is currently on display in the Galway City Museum as part of its Galway and The Great War exhibition.
Orpen will be the subject of a public lecture in the museum, this Saturday [September 30], at 2.30pm by art historian Anne Cormican. For more information or booking contact (091 - 532460 or email [email protected].
