Reference code
CL/1/159
Title
William Orpen, attached General Staff 1/6, A.P.O.S. 37 B.E.F., to [Clausen]
Date
4 May 1917
Level
Item
Extent & medium
1 piece
Content Description
He was so pleased to receive Clausen's letter saying how much he liked Orpen's work. The older he gets the less he feels he can express himself. Discusses his work as a war artist. "I tread with care through these vast battlefields, so as not to blemish their purity". Miles of un-buried bodies. He feels small and petty, "I can't tell you how lonely I am for an understanding person." He assures Clausen he is not depressed, just anxious to record in his work something of what he feels.