As my friend Peter Aylett of CarArt.us quite rightly says, female car artists are rare and portrait artists that paint cars are rare, too. Which makes Chris Osborne extra rare. And no I'm not talking about how you like your steak. Chris is the newest addition to CarArt's stable of renowned automobile artists and judging from her introductory series portraying music and movie stars with cars they owned or are associated with, we can look forward to seeing more of this talented lady's work in the future.
The stars and cars featured in this series are a diverse group. James Dean (Porsche), Jimi Hendrix (Corvette), Steve McQueen (Mustang), Paul Newman (240Z) and Marilyn Monroe (Thunderbird) are among them. I found all of those works enticing and would have had difficulty choosing one for my living room but finally selected Chris Osborne's rendering of Rita Hayworth with her 1949 Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 Super Sport. The car was a gift from Prince Aly Khan on the eve of their 1949 wedding.
What made this painting irresistable is its combination of Hollywood glamour, Italian automotive styling, and the magnificent Riviera setting. The stuff of dreams. Which, incidentally, I once lived (for a week). Beautiful woman, the use of a Ferrari, guest in a luxury villa, reserved waterfront seats for the Monaco Grand Prix. Well, that was then and those days are long gone but some 250 of you can enjoy your own Riviera dreams by way of a limited edition Giclée on paper, 17" x 23", for $200.00, simply by clicking here.
Incidentally the Alfa Romeo still exists, restored, in Scotland. The original painting was commissioned by the owner.
Thank you Philip for posting my atwork! Very kind of you. The Rita Hayworth Alfa commission was a fun project for me. My design ideas evolved as my research led to the revelation that the car was a wedding gift from Prince Aly Khan. The marriage took place at his chateau above Cannes.
Best wishes and a Happy New Year to you!
Chris Osborne
Posted by: Chris Osborne | 01/10/2013 at 08:00 AM