Madam, - We read with great interest Kevin Myers's richly idiosyncratic piece on William Orpen and the exhibition of his works at the National Gallery of Ireland (An Irishman's Diary, June 2nd ).
However, it should be noted that, notwithstanding the importance of Bruce Arnold's book, Orpen: Mirror to an Age (1981), the first significant rehabilitation of Orpen was the landmark centenary exhibition organised by Dr James White at the National Gallery of Ireland in 1978.
In addition, we would like our visitors to note that, regrettably, two of the Orpen paintings mentioned by Mr Myers in his piece, Winston Churchill and Edward, Prince of Wales are not on view in this show as they were made available only to its first venue, the Imperial War Museum, in London. - Yours, etc,
VALERIE KEOGH,
Press & Communications Office,
National Gallery of Ireland,
Merrion Square West,
Dublin 2.