Muirhead Bone at Work
Muirhead Bone at Work
Sir William Orpen RA RHA
(attributed to)
1115
The present brush drawing would appear to feature the artist Muirhead Bone, sketching or working on an etching plate, in a characteristic, seated pose. It is inscribed, Bone, but is clearly not by Bone, who did not work in this style. Orpen did, and he also inscribed many of his ink drawings with titles and other inscriptions, and here he may have been identifying his subject, with a flourish on the "B", and the "one" in his usual handwriting.
Two years apart in age and moving in the same circles in London, Muirhead Bone and William Orpen would have known each other, and Bone certainly knew John and Ida, who were both close to Orpen. They may have first crossed paths when both men were working in Manchester in 1899, and they were both members of the Society of Twelve exhibiting group. Orpen's work featured prominently in "The Nation's War Paintings" exhibition in 1919-20, which was largely curated by Bone and Henry Tonks.
Because there is no specific evidence that the drawing is by Orpen, it is here listed as attributed to the artist.
Dimensions:
c.1910-30
Pen, ink, wash and watercolour
Inscribed "- Bone -"
At some point, the work was tightly mounted, resulting in some fading in the central area.
RELATED ITEMS
![](https://www.pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=https://spenderfineart.co.uk/people/muirhead-bone-at-work&media=https://seek-unique-co.s3.amazonaws.com/spender_231495-tFGE3a/stock/687d063a175b8_image_url_P1013535.JPG&description=The present brush drawing would appear to feature the artist Muirhead Bone, sketching or working on an etching plate, in a characteristic, seated pose. It is inscribed, Bone, but is clearly not by Bone, who did not work in this style. Orpen did, and he also inscribed many of his ink drawings with titles and other inscriptions, and here he may have been identifying his subject, with a flourish on the "B", and the "one" in his usual handwriting.Two years apart in age and moving in the same circles in London, Muirhead Bone and William Orpen would have known each other, and Bone certainly knew John and Ida, who were both close to Orpen. They may have first crossed paths when both men were working in Manchester in 1899, and they were both members of the Society of Twelve exhibiting group. Orpen's work featured prominently in "The Nation's War Paintings" exhibition in 1919-20, which was largely curated by Bone and Henry Tonks. Because there is no specific evidence that the drawing is by Orpen, it is here listed as attributed to the artist.){kind=link}