The Writer (1968)

Born in Dublin to a Scottish-Irish Quaker family, Ronald Ossory Dunlop RA was an Irish author and painter in oil of landscapes, seascapes, figure studies, portraits and still life. A conscientious objector during WW1, in 1923, Dunlop founded the Emotionist Group of writers and artists and his own work is characterised by a painterly exuberance. He was a member of the London Group from 1934, and the New English Art Club from 1935. Dunlop was elected an Associate of the Royal Academy in 1939, became a Royal Academician in 1950 and found considerable fame in his lifetime for his ‘alla prima*’ approach to his work.

This portrait was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1968.

*Alla prima refers to a direct painting approach where paint is applied wet on wet without letting earlier layers dry. In Italian, the term ‘alla prima’ means ‘at first attempt’. Paintings created in this approach are usually completed within a single session.