Frederick Spring Osborne, a prominent member of art academia and a former faculty member of Penn’s Graduate School of Fine Arts, died at home in Chester, Connecticut on October 28, 2020. He was 80.

Mr. Osborne earned a master of fine arts from Yale in 1965, then joined Penn’s faculty in 1966 as an instructor in fine arts in the department of undergraduate sculpture. He rose through the ranks in the department, becoming a lecturer, then an assistant professor, and in 1975, a professor. In 1976 he became a lecturer again, then left Penn in 1977 to join the Philadelphia College of Art (now University of the Arts). During the eleven years he taught at Penn, he was twice nominated for a Lindback Distinguished Teaching Award.

He served on PCA’s faculty for eight years before being appointed Dean of the School of the prestigious Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia in 1985. He served as PAFA’s Vice-President for External and Alumni Affairs for three years, during which he established PAFA’s first official alumni association and stewarded the largest gift it had yet received. In 2002, Mr. Osborne was appointed President of the Lyme Academy of Fine Arts in Old Lyme, Connecticut (Almanac July 11, 2006). During his presidency, the Academy completed its transition from a regional studio art center to an accredited college.

Mr. Osborne is survived by his wife; daughters; sister; and other family members.

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