Lot 1334: Louise Osborne (NY, 1889-1968), The Green Door,

Louise Osborne (NY, 1889-1968), The Green Door, oil on canvas (relined), signed lower left "Lou Osborne," a strong composition with deft handling of line and coloring shows figures and a goat standing before a towering white house with bold green door and trim, several other figures go about their daily chores in the background, unframed. Louis Osborne was born in Belleville, Illinois on March 17, 1889. She once stated, "I do not remember when I did not paint," but she was enrolled in formal classes at the Art Institute of Chicago from 1915 until 1918. She was a great admirer of Robert Henri and began corresponding with the famous artist, who in turn admired her work and provided critique, support, and inspiration over the course of many years. In the mid 1920s, the divorced Osborne fell in love with and married a fellow regionalist, Cordray Simmons. Together they enjoyed a life of artistic opportunity, exhibiting frequently in New York City and further afield. She was elected a member of the Allied Artists of America in 1926 and invited for memberships in the National Association of Woman Painters & Sculptors, Audubon Artists, and the National Association of Woman Arts. She exhibited works at numerous galleries, the Brooklyn Museum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Corcoran Gallery, and the Whitney Museum beside other great American scene painters such as Thomas Hart Benton, John Sloan, William Glackens, and Edward Hopper. Along with her husband, Osborne was the first artist to effectively use synthetic media in her paintings and opened a door for all artists to follow. Included in the list of known works in Pamela Elizabeth Mayo's CORDRAY SIMMONS & LOU OSBORNE (Farmville, VA: Longwood College. 1980). 25.25" x 22.25"