'Handbook to the Works of Robert Browning' (1885; 3rd edit. 1887); written at the request of some members of the society, and with the encouragement and help of the poet, the book is a kind of descriptive index, based partly on the historical order and partly on the natural classification of the various poems' (cf. Pref. 1885). The scheme of classification owed something to the suggestion of John Trivett Nettleship [q. v. Suppl. II]. The sixth edition (1892, often reprinted) embodied Mrs. Orr's final corrections.
In 1891 Mrs. Orr published her well-planned 'Life and Letters of Robert Browning,' largely based on material supplied by Browning's sister. Since 1891 new letters of the poet have come to light, but Mrs. Orr's biography retains the value due to personal knowledge and judgment. A new edition, revised and in part rewritten by (Sir) Frederic G. Kenyon, was published in 1908. Mrs. Orr's estimate of Browning's religious opinions gave rise to discussion, and she answered her critics in an article in the 'Contemporary Review' (Dec. 1891). To that and other periodicals Mrs. Orr contributed occasional articles on art and literature, as well as on 'Women's Suffrage,' of which she was a strong opponent.
After her father's death in 1892 Mrs. Orr continued to live in the house which he had occupied, 11 Kensington Park Gardens, until her death on 23 Aug. 1903. She was buried in Locksbrook cemetery, Bath, beside her parents. Her portrait as a young widow was painted by her brother Frederic (Lord) Leighton in 1860. It was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1861. Leighton wrote that it was more admired than anything else. It is now at Leighton House, Kensington. There is a reproduction in Mrs. Russell Barrington's 'Life and Letters of Frederic Leighton,' 1906, vol. ii. Another portrait, painted by Leighton about 1889, is in the possession of Mrs. Orr's sister, Mrs. Augusta Matthews. They are both fine pictures of a beautiful woman.
[The Times, 26 and 31 Aug. 1903; Mrs. Russell Barrington, Life, Letters and Work of Frederic Leighton, 2 vols. 1906; private information.]
OSBORNE, WALTER FREDERICK (1859–1903), painter, was the son of William Osborne, R.H.A., a popular painter of animals, by Anne Woods, his wife. He was born in 1859 at 5 Castle wood Avenue, Rathmines, Dublin, which was his home for the whole of his life. His general education was acquired at Rathmines school, under the Rev. C. W. Benson. His first training in art was obtained in the schools of the Royal Hibernian Academy, where he won the Albert prize in 1880 with 'A Glade in the Phoenix Park.' In 1881, and again in 1882, he won the Taylor scholarship of 50l. per annum, given by the Royal Dublin Society, the chief reward open only to art students of Irish birth. With the help of this scholarship he proceeded to Antwerp, where he studied for two years under Verlat. On his return home he set himself to paint, in water-colour, pastel, and oil, the life of the English and Irish fields and streets. He spent his summers
in the rural parts of England, in Sussex, Berkshire, Warwickshire, Norfolk, and other districts where subjects unspoiled by commerce, and farmhouses ready to accept a 'paying guest,' were to be found. These
scenes he painted with sincerity, delicacy, and truth, and his pictures soon became widely popular, especially among artists. He painted, too, in Brittany, in the neighbourhood of Quimper, while his pictures of street life in Dublin helped to increase his reputation. He was a regular contributor to the exhibitions of the Royal Hibernian Academy and of the Royal Academy (1886-1903), his contributions to the latter being chiefly portraits. In 1895 he and the writer of this article made a tour in Spain, where he found subjects for several excellent drawings in water-colour and sketches in oil. A year later he travelled in Holland with the same companion and painted canal scenes in Amsterdam. During the last ten years of his life he was much sought after as a portrait painter, a form of art for which he showed
a remarkable gift. Among his sitters were Lord Houghton, now marquess of Crewe, K.G., Lord Ashbourne, Lord Powerscourt, K.P., Sir Thomas Moflfett, Serjeant Jellett, the duke of Abercom, K.G., Sir Frederick Falkiner, Sir Walter Armstrong, and many ladies. The portrait of the duke of Abercom, a full length in a duke's parliamentary robes, was left unfinished at the painter's death. It is in the Masonic Hall, Dublin. In 1900 Osborne was offered knighthood in recognition of his distinction as a painter. He was elected an associate of the Royal Hibernian Academy in 1883, and a full member in 1886. He was delightful in every relation of life and enjoyed great popularity with all his friends. To his powers as an artist he added those which go with a vigorous, athletic body, and had fate made him a professional cricketer, he would probably have acquired fame as a bowler.
