Fine Art Poster
From $29
A giclée print on 200gsm matte fine art paper, using a twelve-colour process for accurate, fade-resistant colour. Supplied unframed, delivered flat or rolled.
The Main Street, Thiepval - William Orpen
Regular price
$29.00 USD
Sale price
$29.00 USD
Regular price
Archival giclée
Frames arrive ready to hang
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Made to order
Description
A 1917 oil painting by Sir William Orpen depicting the desolate, ruined remains of Thiepval village on the Western Front.
Sir William Orpen served as an official war artist during the First World War. In 1917, he travelled to the Western Front, where he produced a series of works documenting the aftermath of the conflict in France. This painting depicts the ruins of Thiepval, a village that had been almost entirely obliterated by heavy shelling.
Orpen captures the scene with a deceptive sense of calm. The composition focuses on a makeshift thoroughfare, ironically labelled 'Central Avenue' by soldiers, which cuts through the churned earth and debris. The palette is dominated by pale, sun-bleached tones, contrasting with the stark blue of the sky. Skeletal trees and remnants of structures stand as quiet witnesses to the destruction. Unlike the more aggressive depictions of combat, this work examines the physical erasure of civilian life and the strange, desolate atmosphere of the front lines.
Orpen employs a fluid, painterly technique. He avoids the grim, dark tones often associated with war imagery, opting instead for a light, almost ethereal quality that makes the absence of life feel more acute. The painting provides a specific, observational record of the environment in which soldiers lived and worked. It remains a significant piece within the Imperial War Museum collection, offering a view of the conflict that prioritises the physical reality of the terrain over heroic narrative. The work reflects Orpen's ability to balance technical precision with a sombre, reflective mood, documenting the transformation of a once-inhabited village into a barren, militarised zone.
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Because every print is made to order, we don't offer change-of-mind returns, refunds or exchanges. If your order arrives faulty, damaged or incorrect, we'll replace it free of charge — just contact us within 48 hours of delivery. See our refunds page for full details.
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Manufacturing
Each print is produced to order using 12-colour giclée printing on FSC-certified archival paper. Designed in Britain and printed at your nearest production hub to reduce waste and speed up delivery.
Care and materials
Specific Features
Every Solis piece is made to order with archival, gallery-quality materials built to last.
- Museum-grade giclée printing for rich, fade-resistant colour
- Archival matte fine-art paper, FSC-certified
- Multiple sizes and framing options available
- Frames in black, natural wood, dark wood or white
- Framed prints arrive ready to hang
Care & Cleaning
To keep your artwork looking its best:
- Dust gently with a soft, dry cloth
- Avoid prolonged direct sunlight
- Never use liquid cleaners on the print or canvas surface
- Keep in a dry, room-temperature space
- Handle prints with clean, dry hands
Materials & Sizing
Museum-grade giclée on FSC-certified archival matte paper, with framed and canvas options.
- Paper sizes: A4, A3, A2, A1, A0 and B2 (50×70 cm)
- Canvas: XS (20×30 cm) to Large (60×90 cm)
- Frames: black, natural wood, dark wood or white
Complete The Look
The Main Street, Thiepval - William Orpen
Regular price
From $29.00 USD
Sale price
From $29.00 USD
Regular price
Fine Art Poster / A4 (21x29.7 cm) / -
Artist Biography
William Orpen
Orpen entered the Dublin Metropolitan School of Art at twelve and won virtually every prize available. He moved to the Slade School of Fine Art in London and repeated the performance. By his early thirties he was the most commercially successful portrait painter in Britain, earning what would now be millions of pounds per year from commissions by the wealthy and the powerful.
During the First World War he was sent to the Western Front as an official war artist for the British government. He was the most prolific of the war artists, producing 138 works: drawings and paintings of soldiers, dead men, German prisoners, ruined trenches, and the blank exhaustion that photographs of the period cannot quite capture. He donated all 138 to the British government. They are now in the Imperial War Museum.
After the war he painted The Signing of the Peace Treaty at Versailles, which should have been the capstone of his career. Instead it became a controversy. He also painted To the Unknown British Soldier in France, a composition that originally included ghostly military figures alongside a flag-draped coffin. The Imperial War Museum refused to accept it until he removed the figures in 1927.
He never fully recovered from the physical and mental effects of the war. He continued to paint society portraits at extraordinary prices (over 50,000 pounds a year by 1929), but those who knew him said something had changed.
He was Irish, from Stillorgan in County Dublin, a fact that became complicated as the independence movement gathered force during and after the war. He accepted a knighthood from the British crown. He died in 1931, aged fifty-two, and faded to near-total obscurity until 2001, when a portrait sold at Sotheby's for nearly two million pounds.
During the First World War he was sent to the Western Front as an official war artist for the British government. He was the most prolific of the war artists, producing 138 works: drawings and paintings of soldiers, dead men, German prisoners, ruined trenches, and the blank exhaustion that photographs of the period cannot quite capture. He donated all 138 to the British government. They are now in the Imperial War Museum.
After the war he painted The Signing of the Peace Treaty at Versailles, which should have been the capstone of his career. Instead it became a controversy. He also painted To the Unknown British Soldier in France, a composition that originally included ghostly military figures alongside a flag-draped coffin. The Imperial War Museum refused to accept it until he removed the figures in 1927.
He never fully recovered from the physical and mental effects of the war. He continued to paint society portraits at extraordinary prices (over 50,000 pounds a year by 1929), but those who knew him said something had changed.
He was Irish, from Stillorgan in County Dublin, a fact that became complicated as the independence movement gathered force during and after the war. He accepted a knighthood from the British crown. He died in 1931, aged fifty-two, and faded to near-total obscurity until 2001, when a portrait sold at Sotheby's for nearly two million pounds.
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Fine Art Framed
From $89
The same fine art print in a solid wood frame with UV-protective acrylic glaze and rigid backing. Five frame colours. Arrives ready to hang.
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