The Holy Well by Irish Artist William Orpen Art Print

The Holy Well (1916) – William Orpen

The Holy Well is one of Orpen's most ambitious and debated Irish subjects, painted in tempera in 1916 and now in the collection of the National Gallery of Ireland. West of Ireland pilgrims gather at a sacred well beneath the eye of a priest, while a lone figure — modelled on Orpen's studio assistant Sean Keating — stands apart on the well, critically aloof. Often read as a satire on the vogue for Celtic themes in Irish art, the work marks a deliberate break from Orpen's earlier realism, with a flat, fresco-like finish and a simplified background.

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. One of the most successful portrait painters of his generation and an official war artist from 1917, his work hangs in the National Gallery of Ireland.

Sizes & Format

• 20 × 25 cm / 8 × 10″
• 40 × 50 cm / 16 × 20″
• 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.

Free Worldwide Shipping

Framed prints are packed with protective corners and wrap, boxed with reinforced edges, and braced with internal supports for extra rigidity (max 3 frames per package). Every order ships free, made to order and delivered from the hub closest to you: Ireland 3–7 business days · UK 4–8 · USA 5–10 · Canada 6–12 · Australia 7–14.