Sir William Orpen, R.W.S., N.E.A.C., R.A., R.H.A.

Mrs Evelyn St George, thence by descent to the present owner

The canvas has been lined and undulates slightly. There is a thick and uneven varnish layer which would benefit from treatment by a restorer. There are areas of craquelure across the surface. Ultraviolet light reveals areas of retouching, corresponding mainly to the craquelure in the girl's face and arm. Held in a gilt composite frame. For a report on professional restoration of the work, please contact the department on 0207 293 5925 or charlie.minter@sothebys.com
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

The present work, painted in 1918, is the only known portrait by Orpen of Vivien, his daughter who resulted from his love affair with Mrs Evelyn St George. She is depicted aged six in a green bridesmaid dress for the wedding of her half-sister, Gardenia St George. It was painted during a brief interlude when Orpen had returned to London from his official duties as a war artist for his exhibition War, held at Agnew’s in May 1918. By the beginning of July, Orpen was back on the Western Front.   

Orpen’s affair with Evelyn St George is well-documented, and was certainly the subject of social gossip at the time. Evelyn was a wealthy American, the eldest child of George Fisher Baker, founder and President of the First National Bank of America. Against her father’s wishes, Evelyn married Howard St George, an Irish land agent from County Kilkenny, in 1891. They moved to Clonsilla Lodge, off Phoenix Park, Dublin in 1905 after which the St Georges were shortly introduced to Orpen. Eight years older than Orpen, and a foot taller, they made a visually odd couple (a fact which delighted Orpen’s humour, recorded in a number of witty sketches), yet there is no doubt of their genuine affection for one another. The love affair began in 1908, and resulted in a series of remarkable paintings by Orpen, his talents enthusiastically encouraged by Evelyn. Most famously are the full-length ‘swagger’ portraits of Evelyn herself, such as Mrs St George (sold in these rooms, 16 May 2003, lot 57 for £924,000). Evelyn also commissioned Orpen to paint her third child, and at this time only daughter, Gardenia, over a number of years from 1906, including the magnificent Portrait of Gardenia St George with Riding Crop, (sold in these rooms 19 May 2001, lot 92 for £1,983,500). 

With her red hair and pointed chin Vivien was, as Bruce Arnold wrote, ‘an Orpen’ (Orpen, Mirror to an Age, 1981, p.242). Despite the circumstances of her parents, she enjoyed a close relationship with her father, who remained friendly with her and Evelyn long after their love affair. In her memoir to her mother, A Mirror for Mama, Vivien wrote with obvious adoration for Orpen, and the many affectionate sketches that exist of her by Orpen reciprocate the feeling. Gardenia St George, later Lady Gunston, claimed too that, ‘without any doubt she was Orpen’s child’ (Bruce Arnold, op. cit.,p.242), and one gains that sense in the tender portrayal of the present work.