John Phillip Osborne: An American Master - May 7-8 and May 14-15

John Phillip Osborne: An American Master
May 7-8 and May 14-15, 2016

The Friends of the Jacobus Vanderveer House will host a special exhibition and sale of works by American master painter John Phillip Osborne with the J. M. Stringer Gallery of Fine Art (formerly of Bernardsville and now based in Vero Beach, FL).

“Patriots in the Snow” Oil on linen panel 16 x 12 in.

The exhibition – John Phillip Osborne: An American Master – will run May 7-8 and May 14-15 with a special Mothers & Mimosas Tour, Sunday, May 8 in honor of Mother’s Day. The collection includes approximately 30 oil paintings and pen and ink drawings depicting a range of subjects.

“We are thrilled to welcome John Osborne and the J.M. Stringer Gallery back to the Jacobus Vanderveer House,” commented Robin Ray, President of the Friends of the Jacobus Vanderveer House. “John has a deep passion for Revolutionary War-era subjects and several of his works are part of the Jacobus Vanderveer House’s permanent collection.”

The exhibition will be open Saturdays 12:00 - 5:00 pm and Sundays 1:00 - 5:00 pm during both weekends. Docents will be available for guided tours of the Vanderveer House and informational material about the 1772 Dutch-Colonial home, period rooms and furnishings are available throughout the house.

Admission $10 (Free to members of the Jacobus Vanderveer House and children 12 and under). The Jacobus Vanderveer House is located at 3055 River Road East (in Bedminster's River Road Park), Bedminster, NJ 07921. For more information, visit www.jvanderveerhouse.org or call 908-396-6053.


About John Phillip Osborne
John Phillip Osborne was born in 1951 and resides in Ringwood, New Jersey. He graduated cum laude from the Pratt Institute in New York with a degree in fine arts, and recently retired after 34 years as senior instructor at the Ridgewood Art Institute.

His paintings – which range from still life and landscape to Revolutionary War era depictions – are exhibited internationally at the American Embassies in Europe, Africa, Asia and South America. Nationally, he is represented by galleries from the east coast to the west, including the J.M. Stringer Gallery of Fine Art in Vero Beach, Florida.

Osborne received the first American Artists Achievement Award for Teacher of Oil Painting. His work has been commended with many Best in Show awards, including the Hudson Valley Art Association’s Gold Medal of Honor and numerous Best Light and Atmospheric Effect awards. He is a recipient of the Hudson Valley Art Association’s highest honor: Artist in Special Tribute.

Osborne studied painting with Alban Albert and Arthur Maynard, who influenced his philosophical approach to painting. Known for his handling of light and attention to atmospheric effects, his oil paintings are works of tonality and subtlety that evoke an emotional rather than tangible remembrance. He admits that he is a lifelong student of the infinite effects of light that nature has to offer.

“The light is always prismatic, no matter what time of day or weather condition,” Osborne observes. “There is always just one light source, whether painting outdoors or indoors in a North-lit studio. I arrange the colors on my palette prismatic ally and strive to get the prism under control with the subtle atmospheric progression of colors and values.”

“Studying the masters, such as George Inness, John Constable, and the French Barbizon painters, I have been able to see what they have shared in common. Now when I go out and paint, I can see beyond the obvious. I am less interested in the fine details and look instead to convey the mood and overall feeling of the moment,” says Osborne.

For more information about John Phillip Osborne, visit www.jmstringergallery.com and www.johnphilliposborne.com.


About The Jacobus Vanderveer House                                  

For more than two centuries, the Jacobus Vanderveer House, located in River Road Park, has been at the center of Bedminster Township’s rich and colorful history. It is situated on part of the 218 acres that make up River Road Park in Bedminster Township, Somerset County. 

Jacobus Vanderveer, Jr., son of Vanderveer, Sr., a wealthy Dutch miller, built a small Dutch frame-style farmhouse just west of the North Branch of the Raritan River on the northern outskirts of Pluckemin. In 1778, during the War of Independence, Vanderveer lent his home to General Henry Knox, who was to command a new artillery encampment and training academy being established by the Continental Army on a hillside above the village of Pluckemin. General Knox, along with his wife Lucy and family, occupied the house from the winter of 1778 through the summer of 1779.

The Vanderveer house is the only surviving building associated with the Pluckemin encampment, which is considered to be the first installation in America to train officers in engineering and artillery. General Knox established “The Academy” and subsequently created its successor, The United States Military Academy at West Point, New York.  

The Jacobus Vanderveer House and property were purchased by Bedminster Township in 1989 with the help of Green Acres funding. The house was listed in 1995 on the National and New Jersey Registers of Historic Places. The Friends of the Jacobus Vanderveer House is a nonprofit organization formed to restore and develop the historic site as an important educational and cultural resource. During the past decade, the Friends have restored the house, created historically accurate period room exhibitions, established historic collections, supported important research, and embarked on a program of education and interpretation to tell the stories of General Henry Knox, the Pluckemin military encampment and the community’s key role in the American Revolution.

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