Homecoming: Walter Osborne’s Portraits of Dublin, 1880–1900
Aug 19, 2025 - Dec 7, 2025 | Temporary Galleries
The Raclin Murphy Museum of Art presents the first monographic exhibition in forty years of the work of Walter Osborne, one of Ireland’s most-heralded artists. The exhibition charts Osborne’s trajectory from his student days in Dublin and Antwerp through his sojourn in Brittany and his early practice in England before returning to his native city to care for his niece and aging parents following the death of his beloved sister Violet in 1893. Through his depictions of Dublin’s streets, parks, public spaces, domestic interiors and gardens, countryside, and most importantly its people, a vision of a vibrant––if divided––Ireland emerges.
Osborne’s experiences abroad and his commercial acumen helped establish Dublin’s unique brand of Modern painting rife with the possibility of change. Iconic works by the artist on loan from the National Gallery of Ireland, Hugh Lane Gallery, Limerick City Gallery of Art, Crawford Art Gallery in Cork, and private collectors in Ireland and the United States offer a rich tapestry of life and art in Ireland at the close of the nineteenth century.
This exhibition is made possible by the Donald and Marilyn Keough Foundation with additional support from the Dr. J. Brien Murphy, Maggie Murphy and Family Endowment Fund for Exhibitions, James and Barbara O’Connell Family Fund for Exhibitions, Friends of the Raclin Murphy Museum of Art, Charter Membership, and in partnership with the Keough-Naughton Institute for Irish Studies.
The catalog for this exhibition includes essays by Brendan Rooney, Head Curator at the National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin; Kathryn Milligan, Assistant Librarian, Edward Murphy Library, National College of Arty & Design, Dublin; Logan Sisley, Head of Collection at the Hugh Lane Gallery, Dublin; Judith Stapleton, Postdoctoral Research Associate, Keough-Naughton Institute for Irish Studies, University of Notre Dame; and the Raclin Murphy Museum Curator who organized the exhibition, Cheryl K. Snay, Curator of European and American Art before 1900. Research assistance was provided by Aoife-Marie Buckley, The Donald and Marilyn Keough Curatorial Fellow at the Raclin Murphy Museum.
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WATCH: “At Home: Walter Osborne’s Paintings of Family Life” Lecture by Kathryn Milligan, Ph.D., National College of Art and Design, Dublin
WATCH: "Homecoming: Walter Osborne's Portraits of Dublin, 1880–1900" Panel Discussion at the National Gallery of Ireland
WATCH: “‘All the Reality of Life’: Osborne, People, and Portraiture” Lecture by Brendan Rooney, Ph.D.
WATCH: “‘One of our Few Geniuses’: Walter Osborne and Hugh Lane’s Gallery of Modern Art” Lecture by Logan Sisley, Hugh Lane Gallery, Dublin