Fanny Osborne

Who is Fanny Osborne?

Fanny Osborne was a prominent New Zealand artist. She was born as Fanny Malcolm in Auckland, New Zealand on 29 January 1852. At the age of six she moved with her parents and 12 siblings to Great Barrier Island, about 90 kilometres to the north-east of Auckland. Osborne's parents began cattle farming at Rosalie Bay in the south of the island. Growing up in such an isolated location was challenging, but Osborne's mother Emilie recognised artistic talents in her daughter at an early stage. Fanny married Joe Osborne in 1874; they settled at Tryphena at the southern end of Great Barrier Island and commenced raising a family of 13 children. As Osborne did not date her paintings it is not known when she commenced painting the indigenous plants of Great Barrier Island. However, over a period of some decades her work reached the highest quality and is now greatly appreciated from both artistic and scientific points of view. Her paintings of the Adams mistletoe are particularly important as this species is now considered extinct, and no colour photographs of it exist. Osborne died in Auckland 12 March 1934 and is buried on Great Barrier Island. A collection of Fanny Osborne's paintings of Great Barrier Island plants was published in 1983 by Jeanne Goulding of the Auckland Museum, whose botany department holds the largest collection of Osborne's works.