THE NATIONAL Gallery of Ireland has purchased a unique portrait of Ireland’s most famous tenor, Count John McCormack, at a Christie’s auction in London.
The gallery paid €404,600 for the painting by Sir William Orpen and hopes to put it on display this summer. The tenor’s grandson, also called Count John McCormack, who had inherited the portrait, said he was thrilled it had found a new home with such a revered institution.
Christie’s described the work, which measures 127cm by 102cm, as one of the best paintings by Orpen to come to the market in many years. It was painted when McCormack’s operatic career was ending and he was preparing to become a solo artist, and has been exhibited at the Smithsonian Institute, Washington (1971), the National Gallery of Ireland (1978 and 2005) and the Imperial War Museum, London.
In the portrait, the singer has a melancholy expression and wears a crumpled suit, often worn as “tennis togs” at the time and in keeping with Orpen’s wish to wear an outfit featuring a soft shirt. He holds a music score in his hand and the red flash on his lapel is the Légion d’Honneur.
Born in Athlone in 1884, McCormack won worldwide fame and wealth, delighting the public firstly as an operatic singer, and later with recordings of popular and sentimental songs. He died in 1942.
Count John McCormack said the artist had “captured the essence of my grandfather”.