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Walter Osborne painted mainly at Quimperlé. His pictures of farmyard, orchard and market bear similar titles to those of his friends and of Augustus Burke, who had painted in Brittany in the 1870's. Osborne moved to England in 1884, where he continued to paint rural scenes (villages and cottages gardens) that he had painted on the Continent. In the early 1890's, a decade after his return from Brittany, an 'impressionistic' influence began to appear in his work. Dark tonality gave way to brighter colors and there was increasing interest in sunlight and shadow. In his empathy for women, children, old people and so on, and in his delicate handling of paint, Osborne's 'Impressionism' is closer to that of Berthe Morisot. He had captured an atmosphere of people in a garden on a summer's afternoon, and an 'impressionistic' spirit of relaxation, as in her paintings, or by Renoir and Monet. From the evidence of these few canvases from his last years, Osborne may be the only Irish artist who could justifiably be called 'an Irish Impressionist'.

Breton Girl by a River, c.1883		Young Girl With Sunhat, c. 1890
Probably painted in 1883, the same year as "Apple Gathering", for the young Breton girl seems to be the same model. She stands with bowl in her hands and jug by her feet, and these details are observed as in an interior study. The patches of sunlight are vividly captured and the different surfaces: stone steps and brick walls, the wooden board of the shelter and foliage, are carefully build up out of near dabs of paint as in his Antwerp studies, and Osborne's handling of an open air subject is still somewhat inhibited. The unfinished area of water contrasts with the finish of the rest of the painting, and reveals the artist's method of working, building up the picture section by section.		This charming sketch of girl with sunhat and smock, with trees and greenery suggested behind, is close in mood and period to plenair scenes, such as Clausen's "Breton Girl". Osborne enjoyed painting open air portraits with faces shadowed by sunhats. The picture may be unfinished as the canvas shows through on the girl's shoulder, and in the shadow of her bonnet, where the paint is cracking.

Apple Gathering, Quimperlé, 1883
Osborne's much-loved Breton rural scene shows two girls in traditional costume gathering apples in the orchard with the rooftops of Quimperle behind. The scene is reminiscent of other orchard and riverside works by O'Meara, Lavery and others in the mid-1880's, with characteristic plein air tones. What may distinguish Osborne from his contemporaries is his evident affection for the children, (the girl with upturned face, dumpy figure and rough peasant clothes), and the richly-worked surface, the 'painterly' enjoyment of colors: rich greens, grays and slate blues, with touches of pink and white.

A November Morning, 1888    Temptation, 1884      A Vegetable Garden With Child In White, c. 1882

The Fish Market, Patrick Street, Dublin     A Scene in the Phoenix Park    Rue Jerzual, Dinan, 1883

St. Patrick's Close, Dublin   Primary Education, 1885   Spoilt Pets

A Young Boy   Little Boy Asleep, 1887   A Boy With His Dog

Rue de Lapport, 1883   Street Scene   Street Scene, Quimperle, 1883

The Intruder, 1883   Irish Market Scene, c. 1893   View of Antwerp

References:

1. "The Irish Impressionists, Irish Artists in France and Belgium 1850-1914". Julian Campbell. National Gallery of Ireland. 1984
2. "Irish Painting". Brian P. Kennedy. Town House, Dublin. 1993.

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OSBORNE LEECH MOYNAN O'CONOR HONE O'MEARA O'KELLY O'BRIEN PURSER THADDEUS BARRY HENRY LAVERY HILL KAVANAGH GARSTIN