€3,000 - €4,000
Augustus Burke RHA (1838-1891)
"Portrait of Walter Osborne," Oils on canvas 60cms x 50cms (24” x 20”). (1)
Inscribed verso ‘Mrs. Segrave.
Provenance: Matilda Segrave; John Talbot; thence by family descent
Exhibited: Milmo-Penny Fine Art, Dublin, October 1992.
This head and shoulders portrait of his friend Walter Osborne depicts the sitter in a formal and slightly sombre mode, set against a neutral background, wearing a brown jacket, waistcoat, wing collar and black necktie, and looking at the observer with a candid, expressionless gaze. Although the face is youthful, Osborne’s hair, still black, is greying at the temples, and his moustache is also greying. As Osborne was born in 1859, and Burke died in 1891, this portrait most likely dates from the late 1880’s. It captures something of the vulnerability of Osborne, who died from pneumonia, aged just 43. The son of equestrian painter William Osborne, he had studied at the Royal Hibernian Academy Schools, winning several prizes. Like several of his fellow students, and encouraged by Burke, he moved on to study at the Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp and in later years, along with Nathaniel Hill and Burke, he painted at English seaside towns, including Walberswick, Hastings and Rye.
Dr. Peter Murray
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