William J Pearse - 1916 Poster

Rare William J Pearse 1916 commemorative poster.

William James Pearse was born on the 15th November 1881 and was a younger brother of Padraig Pearse both of whom were executed for their parts in the Easter Rising.'Willie' Pearse was born in Dublin and had a particularly close relationship with his bother Padraig throughout his short life and was beside him in the GPO.

William Pearse was very artistic and became a sculptor. He was educated at the CBS, Westland Row and  studied at the Metropolitan School of Art in Dublin. He also studied art in Paris. While attending the Kensington School of Art in London he gained notice for several of his artworks. Some of his sculptures are to be found in Limerick Cathedral, the Cathedral of St. Eunan and St Columba, Letterkenny and several Dublin churches. He was trained and expected to take over his father's stonemason business, but gave it up to be strongly involved with St. Enda's School which Patrick had founded in 1908. While there he was involved in the arts and theatre  and supported his brother in the overall management of the school.
William followed his brother into the Irish Volunteers and the Republican movement where took part in the Easter Rising in 1916, always staying by his brother's side at the General Post Office. After the surrender he was court-martialled and sentenced to death. It has often been said that he was a minor figure in the Rising and that it was his surname that resulted in his execution however, during his court martial he stressed his involvement in the Rising which seems very likely given his closeness to his brother and Padraig's role as Commander-in-Chief. On the 3rd of  May, Willie Pearse was granted permission to visit his brother in Kilmainham Gaol, to see him for the final time. However, while he was en route, Patrick was executed first. Willie was executed on the following day. They were the only two brothers to be executed following the Rising.

Originally printed and published by O'Loughlin, Murphy and Boland, using a photo by Keogh Bros., the text below the photograph simply states: "WILLIAM J. PEARSE , Executed, May 4th, , 1916".

This is another fine reproduction on 210 gsm satin art paper , beautifully mounted on a mottled green suede background and set behind glass in a handmade, aged dark mahogany finish frame with a gold gilt sightline.