Lady Gerard in a Green Dress (1903) – William Orpen
Orpen arrived at Eastwell Park in May 1903 to paint Lady Gerard's nephew. He slipped on a polished floor in front of the assembled house party — Duchesses, Dukes, Viscounts — and made the worst possible entrance. Then he painted her portrait, and everyone forgot the floor.
Lady Gerard was part of the Marlborough House Set, the inner circle of wealthy aristocrats who surrounded the future Edward VII. She was recently widowed, formidable, and entirely used to being painted by the best. Orpen — twenty-four years old, Irish, still building his reputation — understood exactly what was required: a sense of grandeur, the chrome green dress dominating the composition, a Titianesque pose that commanded the room it hung in.
He delivered it. The portrait passed through Christie's three times before entering the Michael Smurfit Collection, and sold at Sotheby's London in 2022.
Sir William Orpen (1878-1931), born in Stillorgan, Co Dublin, trained at the Metropolitan School of Art in Dublin and the Slade School in London, becoming the portraitist of choice for Edwardian society. His work hangs in the National Gallery of Ireland.
Sizes & Format
A0 (84.1 × 118.9 cm)
A1 (59.4 × 84.1 cm)
A2 (42 × 59.4 cm)
A3 (29.7 × 42 cm)
Available framed (black, white, wood) or unframed
Print & Frame Details
Archival matte paper, 250gsm (110lb), acid-free and FSC-certified — off-white, uncoated. Framed prints: solid oak or ash wood frame, 20mm thick, with shatterproof protective glazing. Ready to hang, hanging kit included. Unframed prints up to A4 ship flat; larger sizes ship rolled in a protective tube.
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