WALTER FREDERICK OSBORNE – WHEN THE BOATS COME IN
When the Boats Come In by Irish impressionist Walter Osborne will lead Bonhams 19th Century European, Victorian and British Impressionist Art sale in London on March 1. Born in Dublin in 1859 he studied in his home city and in Antwerp. Osborne spent most of the years 1884 – 1891 in England, and it was during that period that he painted When the Boats Come In. At the time he was living in Rye in Sussex and this work is closely linked stylistically and in subject matter to another work he completed there, The Ferry. These, and other mid-career pictures such as Cherry Ripe and Boats in Rye Harbour, are regarded as among Osborne’s finest.
His works can be found in major collections in Ireland, including the Hugh Lane Gallery of Modern Art and the National Gallery of Ireland in Dublin. His paintings also hang in Tate Britain and the National Portrait Gallery in London. Bonhams Director of 19th Century Paintings, Charles O’Brien said, “When the Boats Come In is a wonderful example of Osborne’s English period. It has many of the details – grazing geese, fishermen and villagers at work, a basket of fish with some of them spilling onto the quay – that the artist loved to include in his paintings and which have made them so popular and sought-after at auction.” It is estimated at £100,000-150,000.
UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR £125,000