{"product_id":"orpen-at-war-patricia-oreilly","title":"Orpen at War; Patricia O'Reilly","description":"\u003cp\u003ePaperback\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCondition: As New\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDuring World War I, Major William Orpen, a highly successful commercial painter in Ireland and the UK, takes up a posting as official British war artist. Full of high hopes he sets off to the front with a Rolls-Royce and a driver.\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eBut nothing in his privileged life prepared him for the horrors he encounters. Based in Amiens, he is initially unable to capture on canvas the sights that haunt him, but eventually his inspired output becomes prolific – Tommies in rat-infested, water-sodden trenches; men charging across the tortured earth with fixed bayonets; generals in luxurious quarters; nurses ministering gently to the wounded in the hell-hole hospitals.\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eCommissioned to paint the Paris Peace Conference he settles in Paris with Yvonne, his model and muse. His epic, To the Unknown British Soldier in France, is hailed by some as ‘symbolic’; but by others as a ‘blasphemous disgrace’.\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eDisheartened at the ending of the war, he is consumed by its futility and what he sees as the fighting men’s betrayal by the politicians. At war with himself, he divides his time between Paris and London but suffers from depression and ill health. Alienated from his family, he dies in 1931 of alcohol-related complications.\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eThis illustrated biographical novel – featuring dozens of Orpen’s paintings and B\u0026amp;Wdrawings – will enthral anyone interested in the brutal reality of World War I, and help us to appreciate one artist’s remarkable personal and creative journey.\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"The Secret Bookstore","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48008368062809,"sku":"4408","price":9.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0275\/8921\/4278\/files\/OrpenatWar_PatriciaO_Reilly.jpg?v=1711014636","url":"https:\/\/www.thesecretbookstore.pro\/products\/orpen-at-war-patricia-oreilly","provider":"The Secret Bookstore","version":"1.0","type":"link"}