Chris Osborne has created a unique collection, which portrays stars from the world of entertainment with cars they owned or were associated with.  Think fame and fenders : )

"There are key things in American culture that absorb my attention: the fabulous cars of decades past, the colorful people who drove them, the Hollywood Golden Age, and jazz and blues -- the true American musical genres.  Any combination of these elements may appear in my work.  After exhaustive research and the use of figurative models, I like to apply an imaginative view of history.”

Raised in New Milford, Connecticut, Chris earned a BA in Art from Bard College in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York and an MFA in printmaking from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

After an extended stay on Martha’s Vineyard in the 1970s, she moved to New York City, working with renowned artist agent Jane Lander.  This pivotal move guided Chris toward figurative drawing and painting, and in the mid-1980s she left to pursue art on her own.  In the 1990s Chris supplemented her work by managing the Jazz & Blues department at Tower Records, the largest retail record store in New York, putting her in the midst of the music world.  This experience eventually led to her current work on a history of jazz and blues in visual form, decade by decade, city by city, with the American automobile as a natural focal point.  The Connecticut Office of the Arts awarded this project a 2012 Artist Fellowship Grant. 

Chris has exhibited widely in galleries and art associations in the Northeast and New York City, along with invitational exhibits at annual Collector Car events such as the Kruse Auction in Auburn, Indiana, the Louisville Concours d’Elegance, the Hamptons Concours d’Elegance, the Glenmoor Gathering of Significant Automobiles, the Las Vegas Concours d’Elegance, the Fairfield County Concours d’Elegance, and the Classic Car Club of America annual gathering in Hickory Corners, Michigan.  

She was the Classic Car Club of America poster artist for 2005, and the 2011 Dayton Concours poster artist. In April & May of 2006 the Auburn Cord Duesenberg Museum and Kruse Museum in Indiana exhibited her work in a solo show.  

Recipient of the Classic Car Club of America 2003 Fine Art Award of Excellence, the Glenmoor Gathering 2007 Best of Show award, and the 2007 National Society of Painters in Casein & Acrylic (NSPCA) Prize.  The Connecticut Society of Portrait Artists honored her with a 2010 Award of Merit.

Features about this artist have been published in Automobile Quarterly, Hemmings Classic Car, Hemmings Muscle Machines, Hemmings Sports & Exotics, Classic & Sports Car, and Guitar Player magazine.

Chris's paintings are in many collections, including those of Tony Bennett, Dave Brubeck, Jay Geils, Cassandra Wilson, Jon Faddis, and Delfeayo Marsalis, among others.