Spring 1997	THE ARCHIVE	Issue #4
The Journal of the Leslie/Lohman Gay Art Foundation

 

An Important Painting by Philip Osborne is Donated to the Foundation By David Jarrett

The Leslie-Lohman Gay Art Foundation was recently given an outstanding work, Leslie looking in the mirror with Brendon watching, by the late English artist Philip Osborne (1926 - 1994). The gift was made by his lover and companion of the last 20 years of his life, Stevie Bingham. Philip Ambrose Edgar Osborne was born in Northhampton, UK, on July 25, 1926. At age 24 he undertook studies for the priesthood at St. Sulpice in Paris. His studies were never completed owing to what was later described as a nervous breakdown. Upon his recovery he resumed his career as a journalist. In 1961, in Cambridge, he married a woman who was a scholar and professional teacher. It was during the early phase of his marriage that he started painting as a hobby, becoming, as he described it, "a Sunday painter." His wife, Marguerita, was the first to discern Osborne's genuine talent and vigorously encouraged him to pursue painting seriously. In 1962, in mid-life, he entered the Exeter College of Art and spent 8 years under its principal, Clifford Fishwick. It was there, under the influence of a young teacher from London, John Epstein, that Osborne truly discovered himself as a serious artist. Now well educated in art history and aesthetics, Osborne supported himself by lecturing at Newton and Torquay. In 1970, at the age of 44, he had his first one man show at Dartington Hall. In 1973, Philip and Marguerita agreed to an amicable divorce after 12 years of marriage. There were no children. In 1974, at the age of 48 Osborne met the 21 year old writer-poet-performance artist Stevie Bingham. It was the beginning of a relationship that was to last for the rest of his life. While still in Exeter, now living with Stevie, Osborne had a brief, but never to be repeated, financial success as a painter. A collector named Moita Hands and her daughter had fallen in love with Osborne's work upon viewing it in a cafe/art shop in Ashburton, Devon. Among several pieces sold were "Hair Right," showing two men in a bathroom combing their hair, and "The Human Race Coming Upon Giants Asleep." Mrs. Hands became something of a patron of Osborne's, but unfortunately her collection has long since been dispersed and the whereabouts of the works is unknown. Osborne and Bingham moved to London in 1986 where Philip began painting full time. Their new situation required that they - as Philip put it - "embrace Our Lady of Poverty." But it was in London that he finally had another one man show. At that time the only gay-identified gallery in Britain had been established by an enterprising couple, Stephen Boyd and Philip Graham. Their gallery was called 'st. Judes? and was in an admirable location at 107 Kensington Church Street. The pair were immediately won over by Osborne's work and wasted no time in mounting a show. The show ran from Feb 4 through Feb 24, 1990. although gallery goers expressed great enthusiasm, sales were disappointing. Sales notwithstanding, St. Jude's was already planning another exhibition of Osborne's work when Stephen Boyd became critically ill with AIDS. Philip Graham, preoccupied with the care of his lover, closed St. Jude's in 1992. Shortly thereafter, when he had been able to organize better care arrangements, he opened a second gallery (Philip Graham Contemporary Art) in late-1992 on Bonhill Street. It was at the opening of this gallery that Osborne's work was exhibited for a third time. Two years later on February 26, 1994 at the age of 67, Philip Osborne died of esophageal cancer. On Tuesday, October 11 1994, Graham hosted a major retrospective of Philip Osborne's work. The show ran until Nov. 4 and included 40 works. Graham's gallery only lasted another seven months because he too was becoming ill with AIDS. It closed on June 23. 1995, a month after the death of Stephen Boyd. As a rather late bloomer, Osborne never received much recognition during his lifetime, although articles about him were published in 1990 in various gay publications in England and the U.S. As an artist, Philip Osborne's work was solely concentrated on a small group of imaginary male characters - nude and semi-nude - each with his own personality, each of whom embodies some aspects of his ideal gay man and who he often described in words as well as paint. For instance, "Cedric is courteous and kind, classically beautiful as well as noble, cultured and fine." At the other end of the spectrum is Kevin, a working class youth who is "mischievous, cheerfully carnal, and whose wants are principally erotic....." Osborne's paintings radiate a subtle but very controlled eroticism. He stated that "my pictures are erotic, yes, but very little more than life itself" and pointed out that in the mythology of the ancient Greeks, Eros, the God of Love, was "the natural source of compassion, benevolent curiosity and physical love - a god whom modern inclination has tended to reduce to the level of a sniper in the undergrowth." In Osborne's view - a view not shared by all artists - the ultimate aim of art should be the "creation of beauty rather than titillation or propaganda. In painting this 'creation' has to do with 'the arrival on canvas of that growing confluence of form, color and subject matter - a moment which transcends your original intentions and glows with a life of its own." Animal lust has little place in Osborne's vision. In his erotic images the qualities of restraint and decorum, compassion and tenderness define and enhance physical desire. Wonderfully accomplished in both composition and use of color, Osborne was obsessed with precision and exactitude in his painting technique. Tonal values, shadows and highlights are suggestive of the contours of a map with an almost total absence of gradual gradations. If viewed fleetingly, superficially, the works might suggest a cartoon. Upon closer examination they reveal much more. Strangely, Osborne never signed any of his paintings. LLGAF wishes to express its gratitude to Stevie Bingham for his generous gift and to thank David Jarrett for facilitating this valuable donation.

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