Ready to Start - William Orpen Portrait Art Framed Canvas
Description
Orpen's Ready to Start simmers like a queer fever dream on the precipice of global upheaval. The artist's reflection, cloaked in a kinda sorta military drag, gazes out with a mixture of apprehension and barely-concealed longing. His fur stole, a nod to camp extravagance, drapes provocatively across shoulders squared for battle. The floral wallpaper erupts in riotous pink, a last gasp of domestic frivolity before the khaki world swallows all.
Orpen's tablescape becomes a coded love letter to pleasures soon forsaken - empty bottles whispering of clandestine nights, maps hinting at unexplored territories of desire. The siphon stands erect, a phallic reminder of fluids exchanged and intimacies shared. This isn't just a soldier's farewell; it's a requiem for a queer world forced underground by war's grinding heteronormativity.
The painting vibrates with the electric current of imminent separation - from lovers, from community, from the self cultivated in peacetime's shadowy bars and salons. Orpen's genius lies in capturing this liminal moment where martial duty collides with personal truth, leaving viewers to contemplate the myriad sacrifices demanded by conflict, both on and off the battlefield.
About the Canvas
Make any room a showpiece
• Luscious artist-grade cotton canvas, finely textured for depth and precision.
• Hand-stretched and natural white to capture light/color with striking clarity.
• Printed with non-toxic, water-based pigments that stay vivid for decades.
• Precisely measured floating frame that creates a sleek, gallery-worthy effect.
• Sustainably sourced FSC® certified European knotless pine.
3 distinctive frame colors
Black: Suits every style from bold modernity to gothic opulence.
White: Helps art shine bright in dark rooms to lift your mood.
Natural: Infuses warmth with its rich, honeyed tones.
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The Timeless Sale
The Timeless Sale — always in style
Buy any 2 for 10% off
2 x phone cases? 10% off.
Discount code: TIMELESSCASES
2 x art prints? 10% off.
Discount code: TIMELESSPRINTS
2 x framed canvases? Yep, 10% off.
Discount code: TIMELESSCANVAS
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The fine print, without the fine print
Offer available 24/7, 365 days a year.
Must buy 2 of the same product type in a single purchase.
Can't be combined with other discounts.
No returns / exchanges for discounted treasure.
Delivery & Refunds
Only the Best Will Do
Artist-grade cotton with lush, finely grained texture. Engineered to capture every intricate brushstroke and subtle gradient.
Giclée Printing
Forget 4 color CMYK. Giclée layers up to 12 — alive with deeper shadows, richer highlights and multidimensional contrasts.
A Century of Color
Printed using a pro-lab process that helps art stay bold & breathtaking for up to 100 yr with non-toxic, archival-grade inks.
