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Henry Ossawa Tanner (June 21, 1859 – May 25, 1937) was an American artist and the first African-American painter to gain international acclaim. Tanner moved to Paris, France, in 1891 to study at the
Académie Julian The Académie Julian () was a private art school for painting and sculpture founded in Paris, France, in 1867 by French painter and teacher Rodolphe Julian (1839–1907) that was active from 1868 through 1968. It remained famous for the number ...
and gained acclaim in French artistic circles. His painting ''Daniel in the Lions' Den'' (1895, location unknown) was accepted into the 1896
Salon Salon may refer to: Common meanings * Beauty salon, a venue for cosmetic treatments * French term for a drawing room, an architectural space in a home * Salon (gathering), a meeting for learning or enjoyment Arts and entertainment * Salon ( ...
, the official art exhibition of the Académie des Beaux-Arts in Paris. Tanner's ''Resurrection of Lazarus'' (1896,
Musée d'Orsay The Musée d'Orsay ( , , ) ( en, Orsay Museum) is a museum in Paris, France, on the Left Bank of the Seine. It is housed in the former Gare d'Orsay, a Beaux-Arts railway station built between 1898 and 1900. The museum holds mainly French a ...
, Paris) was purchased by the French government after winning the third-place medal at the 1897 Salon. In 1923, the French government elected Tanner chevalier of the
Legion of Honor The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...
. After pursuing art on his own as a young man, Tanner enrolled at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia in 1879. The only black student, he became a favorite of the painter Thomas Eakins, who had recently started teaching there. Tanner made other connections among artists, including Robert Henri. In the late 1890s, art patron
Rodman Wanamaker Lewis Rodman Wanamaker (February 13, 1863 – March 9, 1928) was an American businessman and heir to the Wanamaker's department store fortune. In addition to operating stores in Philadelphia, New York City, and Paris, he was a patron of the art ...
sponsored Tanner's trip to the Mutasarrifate of Jerusalem after seeing the artist's paintings of biblical themes. Tanner married Jessie Macauley Olssen on December 14, 1899, in London. Their son, Jesse Ossawa Tanner, was born in New York City on September 25, 1903. The family made France their permanent home, dividing time between Paris and a farm in Normandy.


Early life

Henry Ossawa Tanner was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the first of nine children; two brothers, Benjamin and Horace, died in infancy. One of his sisters, Halle Tanner Dillon Johnson, was the first woman to be certified to practice medicine in Alabama. His parents gave him a middle name that commemorated the struggle at Osawatomie between pro- and anti-slavery partisans. His father Benjamin Tucker Tanner (1835–1923) became a bishop in the
African Methodist Episcopal Church The African Methodist Episcopal Church, usually called the AME Church or AME, is a predominantly African American Methodist denomination. It adheres to Wesleyan-Arminian theology and has a connexional polity. The African Methodist Episcopal ...
(AME), the first independent black denomination in the United States. He was educated at Avery College and Western Theological Seminary in Pittsburgh, and developed a literary career. In addition, he was a political
activist Activism (or Advocacy) consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived greater good. Forms of activism range fro ...
, supporting abolition of slavery. Henry Tanner's mother Sarah was born into
slavery Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...
in Virginia, but had escaped as a refugee to the North via the
Underground Railroad The Underground Railroad was a network of clandestine routes and safe houses established in the United States during the early- to mid-19th century. It was used by enslaved African Americans primarily to escape into free states and Canada. ...
. There she met and married Benjamin Tanner. The family moved from Pittsburgh to
Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...
when Tanner was a teenager. There his father became a friend of
Frederick Douglass Frederick Douglass (born Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey, February 1817 or 1818 – February 20, 1895) was an American social reformer, abolitionist, orator, writer, and statesman. After escaping from slavery in Maryland, he became ...
, sometimes supporting him, sometimes criticizing. Robert Douglass, Jr., a successful black artist in Philadelphia, was an early neighbor of the Tanner family, and Tanner wrote that he "used to pass and always stopped to look at his pictures in the window." When Tanner was about 13 years old, he saw a landscape painter working in Fairmount Park, where he was walking with his father. He decided that he wanted to be a painter.


Education

Although many artists refused to accept an African-American apprentice, in 1879 Tanner enrolled at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia, becoming the only black student. His decision to attend the school came at a time when art academies increasingly focused on study from live models rather than plaster casts. Thomas Eakins, a professor at the Pennsylvania Academy, was one of the first American artists to promote new approaches to artistic education including increased study from live models, discussion of anatomy in classes of both male and female students, and dissections of cadavers to teach anatomy. Eakins's progressive approach to art education had a profound effect on Tanner. The young artist was one of Eakins' favorite students; two decades after Tanner left the Academy, Eakins painted his portrait.Parry, Ellwood C. III. ''Three Nineteenth Century Afro-American Artists.'' Cedar Rapids, IA: Cedar Rapids Art Center, 1980. At the Academy, Tanner befriended artists with whom he kept in contact throughout the rest of his life, most notably Robert Henri, one of the founders of the Ashcan School. During a relatively short time at the Academy, Tanner developed a thorough knowledge of anatomy and the skill to express his understanding of the weight and structure of the human figure on the canvas.Matthews, Marcia. ''Henry Ossawa Tanner: American Artist''. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1969. Tanner's artistic studies were disrupted by illness, which was reported in November 1881 and said to have persisted into the following summer, when Tanner spent time recovering in the Adirondack mountains.


Issues of racism

Although Tanner gained confidence as an artist and began to sell his work, he faced
racism Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagoni ...
working as a professional artist in Philadelphia. In his autobiography, ''The Story of an Artist's Life'', Tanner described the burden of racism:
I was extremely timid and to be made to feel that I was not wanted, although in a place where I had every right to be, even months afterwards caused me sometimes weeks of pain. Every time any one of these disagreeable incidents came into my mind, my heart sank, and I was anew tortured by the thought of what I had endured, almost as much as the incident itself.


Life abroad

In the hope of earning enough money to travel to Europe, Tanner operated a photography studio in
Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,7 ...
during the late 1880s. The venture was unsuccessful. During this period Tanner met Bishop
Joseph Crane Hartzell Joseph Crane Hartzell (June 1, 1842 – September 6, 1928) was an American Missionary Bishop (Methodist Church), Missionary Bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church who served in the United States and in Africa. Early life and family Joseph was ...
, a trustee of Clark College. Hartzell and his wife befriended Tanner, became his patrons, and recommended him for a teaching job at the college. Tanner taught drawing at Clark College (now
Clark Atlanta University Clark Atlanta University (CAU or Clark Atlanta) is a private, Methodist, historically black research university in Atlanta, Georgia. Clark Atlanta is the first Historically Black College or University (HBCU) in the Southern United States. Foun ...
) for a short period. In 1891, he traveled to Paris, France, to study at the
Académie Julian The Académie Julian () was a private art school for painting and sculpture founded in Paris, France, in 1867 by French painter and teacher Rodolphe Julian (1839–1907) that was active from 1868 through 1968. It remained famous for the number ...
. He also joined the American Art Students Club. Paris was a welcome escape for Tanner; within French art circles, race mattered little. Tanner acclimated quickly to Parisian life. There he met Atherton Curtis who became a friend and a patron of his art. He was part of a community of artists in
Mount Kisco, New York Mount Kisco is a village and town in Westchester County, New York, United States. The town of Mount Kisco is coterminous with the village. The population was 10,959 at the 2020 United States census over 10,877 at the 2010 census. It serves as a ...
for six months in 1902, at the behest of Curtis, and returned the following winter. Except for occasional brief returns home, Tanner spent the rest of his life in Paris. There he was introduced to many new artists whose works would affect his approach to art. At the
Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is the world's most-visited museum, and an historic landmark in Paris, France. It is the home of some of the best-known works of art, including the ''Mona Lisa'' and the '' Venus de Milo''. A central ...
, he encountered and studied the works of
Gustave Courbet Jean Désiré Gustave Courbet ( , , ; 10 June 1819 – 31 December 1877) was a French painter who led the Realism movement in 19th-century French painting. Committed to painting only what he could see, he rejected academic convention and ...
, Jean-Baptiste Chardin and
Louis Le Nain The three Le Nain brothers were painters in 17th-century France: Antoine Le Nain (c.1600–1648), Louis Le Nain (c.1603–1648), and Mathieu Le Nain (1607–1677). They produced genre works, portraits and portrait miniatures. Lives and work The ...
.Shaw, Thomas M. ''What Manner of Men? A Reconsideration across the Synapses of Art History of Three Paintings and their Images of Men of African Descent.'' Lanham, MD: University Press of America, 1997. These artists had painted scenes of ordinary people in their environment, and the influence in Tanner's work is noticeable. That of Courbet's '' The Stone Breakers'' (1850; destroyed) can be seen in the similarities in Tanner's ''The Young Sabot Maker'' (1895). Both paintings explore the themes of apprenticeship and
manual labor Manual labour (in Commonwealth English, manual labor in American English) or manual work is physical work done by humans, in contrast to labour by machines and working animals. It is most literally work done with the hands (the word ''manual ...
. Tanner continued his studies under renowned artists such as Jean Joseph Benjamin Constant and Jean-Paul Laurens.Bruce, Marcus C. ''Henry Ossawa Tanner.'' New York: Crossroad Publishing, 2002. With their guidance, Tanner began to establish a reputation in France. He settled at the Étaples art colony in Normandy. Earlier, Tanner had painted marine scenes of man's struggle with the sea, but by 1895 he was creating mostly religious works. His shift to painting biblical scenes occurred as he was undergoing a spiritual struggle. In a letter he wrote to his parents on Christmas 1896, he stated, "I have made up my mind to serve Him odmore faithfully." A transitional work from this period is the recently rediscovered painting of a fishing boat tossed on the waves, which is held by the
Smithsonian American Art Museum The Smithsonian American Art Museum (commonly known as SAAM, and formerly the National Museum of American Art) is a museum in Washington, D.C., part of the Smithsonian Institution. Together with its branch museum, the Renwick Gallery, SAAM holds ...
. This is based on the description of a miracle in the
Gospel of Matthew The Gospel of Matthew), or simply Matthew. It is most commonly abbreviated as "Matt." is the first book of the New Testament of the Bible and one of the three synoptic Gospels. It tells how Israel's Messiah, Jesus, comes to his people and form ...
in which "the boat was now in the middle of the sea, tossed by the waves, for the wind was contrary" (14:24). The simple resources at Étaples were well adapted to his subject matter, which in several cases featured biblical figures in dark interiors. Tanner's painting ''Daniel in the Lions' Den'' was accepted into the 1896
Salon Salon may refer to: Common meanings * Beauty salon, a venue for cosmetic treatments * French term for a drawing room, an architectural space in a home * Salon (gathering), a meeting for learning or enjoyment Arts and entertainment * Salon ( ...
. Later that year he painted ''The Resurrection of Lazarus''. The critical praise for this piece solidified Tanner's position in the artistic elite and heralded the future direction of his paintings, which treated mostly biblical themes. Upon seeing ''The Resurrection of Lazarus'', art critic
Rodman Wanamaker Lewis Rodman Wanamaker (February 13, 1863 – March 9, 1928) was an American businessman and heir to the Wanamaker's department store fortune. In addition to operating stores in Philadelphia, New York City, and Paris, he was a patron of the art ...
offered to pay all the expenses for a journey by Tanner to the
Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...
. Wanamaker felt that any serious painter of biblical scenes needed to see the environment firsthand and that a painter of Tanner's caliber was well worth the investment. Tanner quickly accepted the offer. Before the next Salon opened, he set forth for the Palestine region of the
Levant The Levant () is an approximate historical geographical term referring to a large area in the Eastern Mediterranean region of Western Asia. In its narrowest sense, which is in use today in archaeology and other cultural contexts, it is ...
. Explorations of various mosques and biblical sites, as well as character studies of the local population, allowed him to further his artistic training. His paintings developed a powerful air of mystery and spirituality. Tanner was not the first artist to study the Middle East in person: since the 1830s, interest in
Orientalism In art history, literature and cultural studies, Orientalism is the imitation or depiction of aspects in the Eastern world. These depictions are usually done by writers, designers, and artists from the Western world. In particular, Orientalist p ...
had been growing in Europe. Artists such as
Eugène Delacroix Ferdinand Victor Eugène Delacroix ( , ; 26 April 1798 – 13 August 1863) was a French Romantic artist regarded from the outset of his career as the leader of the French Romantic school.Noon, Patrick, et al., ''Crossing the Channel: Britis ...
, David Roberts and, later, Henri
Matisse Henri Émile Benoît Matisse (; 31 December 1869 – 3 November 1954) was a French visual artist, known for both his use of colour and his fluid and original draughtsmanship. He was a draughtsman, printmaker, and sculptor, but is known primar ...
made such tours to capitalize on this curiosity. In his adopted home of France, in 1923 Tanner was appointed Chevalier of the
Legion of Honor The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...
, the highest national order of merit. He considered this "citation by the French government to be the greatest honor of his illustrious career."


''The Banjo Lesson''

On a short return visit to the United States in 1893, Tanner painted '' The Banjo Lesson'', while in Philadelphia. Considered his most well-known work, the painting shows an elderly black man teaching a boy, assumed to be his grandson, how to play the banjo. This quiet composition explores several important themes. The image of a black man playing the banjo appears throughout American art of the late 19th century. Thomas Worth,Woods, Naurice Frank, Jr., Ph.D. ''Insuperable Obstacles: The Impact of the Creative and Personal Development of Four Nineteenth Century African American Artists''. The Union Institute, 1993. Willy Miller, Walter M. Dunk, Eastman Johnson, and Tanner's teacher Thomas Eakins had all tackled the subject in their artwork. Tanner created a sensitive moment of human interaction. The old man and young boy are shown engaged in a concentrated activity, oblivious to the rest of the world, sharing a sense of contact and cooperation. Tanner portrays the sitters as individuals with portrait-like detail. Tanner's muted palette creates a peaceful scene that emphasizes modesty and family. There are two separate and varying light sources: A natural white, blue glow from outside enters from the left, while the warm light from a fireplace is apparent on the right. The figures are illuminated where the two light sources meet; some have hypothesized this as a manifestation of Tanner's situation in transition between two worlds, his American past and his newfound home in France.


Painting style

Tanner painted landscapes, religious subjects, and scenes of daily life in a realistic style that echoed that of Eakins. While works like ''The Banjo Lesson'' depicted everyday scenes of African American life, Tanner later painted religious subjects. It is likely that Tanner's father, a minister in the
African Methodist Episcopal The African Methodist Episcopal Church, usually called the AME Church or AME, is a predominantly African American Methodist denomination. It adheres to Wesleyan-Arminian theology and has a connexional polity. The African Methodist Episcopal ...
Church, was a formative influence for him. Tanner was not limited to one specific approach to painting and drawing. His works reflect at times meticulous attention to detail and loose, expressive brushstrokes in others. Often both methods are employed simultaneously. Tanner was also interested in the effects that color could have in a painting.Kettlewell, James K. ''The Art of Henry Ossawa Tanner.'' Glen Falls, NY: The Hyde Collection, 1975. Warmer compositions such as ''The Resurrection of Lazarus'' (1896) and '' The Annunciation'' (1898) express the intensity and fire of religious moments, and the elation of transcendence between the divine and humanity. Other paintings emphasize cool hues, which became dominant in his work after the mid-1890s. A palette of indigo and turquoise—referred to as the "Tanner blues"—characterizes works such as ''The Three Marys'' (1910), ''Gateway'' (1912) and ''The Arch'' (1919). Works such as ''The Good Shepherd'' (1903) and ''Return of the Holy Women'' (1904) evoke a feeling of somber religiosity and introspection. Tanner often experimented with light in his works, which at times adds symbolic meaning. In ''The Annunciation'' (1898), for example, the
archangel Archangels () are the second lowest rank of angel in the hierarchy of angels. The word ''archangel'' itself is usually associated with the Abrahamic religions, but beings that are very similar to archangels are found in a number of other relig ...
Gabriel In Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity and Islam), Gabriel (); Greek: grc, Γαβριήλ, translit=Gabriḗl, label=none; Latin: ''Gabriel''; Coptic: cop, Ⲅⲁⲃⲣⲓⲏⲗ, translit=Gabriêl, label=none; Amharic: am, ገብ� ...
is represented as a column of light that forms, together with the shelf in the upper left corner, a cross.


Marriage and family

In 1899 he married Jessie Olsson, a Swedish-American opera singer. A contemporary, Virginia Walker Course, described their relationship as one of equal talents, but racist attitudes insisted the relationship was unequal:
Fan, did you ever hear of a miss icOlsson of Portland? She has a beautiful voice I believe and came to Paris to cultivate it and she has married a darkey artist ... He is an awefully ictalented man but he is black. ... She seems like a well educated girl and really very nice but it makes me sick to see a cultivated woman marry a man like that. I don't know his work but he is very talented they say.
Jessie Tanner died in 1925, twelve years before her husband, and he grieved her deeply through the 1920s. He sold the family home in Les Charmes where they had been so happy together. They are buried next to each other in Sceaux, Hauts-de-Seine. They had a son, Jesse, who survived Tanner at his death.


Later years

During
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
, Tanner worked for the
Red Cross The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million Volunteering, volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure re ...
Public Information Department, during which time he also painted images from the front lines of the war. His works featuring African-American troops were rare during the war. In 1923 the French state made him a knight of the
Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleo ...
for his work as an artist. Tanner met with fellow African-American artist
Palmer Hayden Palmer C. Hayden (January 15, 1890 – February 18, 1973) was an American painter who depicted African-American life, landscapes, seascapes, and African influences. He sketched, painted in both oils and watercolors, and was a prolific arti ...
in Paris circa 1927. They discussed artistic technique and he gave Hayden advice on interacting with French society. Several of Tanner's paintings were purchased by Atlanta art collector J. J. Haverty, who founded Haverty Furniture Co. and was instrumental in establishing the
High Museum of Art The High Museum of Art (colloquially the High) is the largest museum for visual art in the Southeastern United States. Located in Atlanta, Georgia (on Peachtree Street in Midtown, the city's arts district), the High is 312,000 square feet (28, ...
. Tanner's '' Étaples Fisher Folk'' is among several paintings from the Haverty collection now in the High Museum's permanent collection. Tanner died peacefully at his home in Paris, France, on May 25, 1937. He is buried at Sceaux Cemetery in
Sceaux, Hauts-de-Seine Sceaux () is a commune in the Hauts-de-Seine department in the southern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. In 2019, Sceaux had a population of 20,004. A wealthy city Sceaux is famous for the Château de Sceaux, ...
, which is a suburb of Paris.


Legacy

Tanner's work was influential during his career; he has been called "the greatest African American painter to date." The early paintings of William Edouard Scott, who studied with Tanner in France, show the influence of Tanner's technique. In addition, some of
Norman Rockwell Norman Percevel Rockwell (February 3, 1894 – November 8, 1978) was an American painter and illustrator. His works have a broad popular appeal in the United States for their reflection of the country's culture. Rockwell is most famous for the ...
's illustrations deal with the same themes and compositions that Tanner pursued. Rockwell's proposed cover of the ''
Literary Digest ''The Literary Digest'' was an influential American general interest weekly magazine published by Funk & Wagnalls. Founded by Isaac Kaufmann Funk in 1890, it eventually merged with two similar weekly magazines, ''Public Opinion'' and '' Current ...
'' in 1922, for example, shows an older black man playing the banjo for his grandson. The light sources are nearly identical to those in Tanner's ''Banjo Lesson.'' A fireplace illuminates the right side of the picture, while natural light enters from the left. Both use similar objects as well such as the clothing, chair, crumpled hat on the floor. Some other major artists Tanner mentored include William A. Harper and Hale Woodruff. Tanner's ''Sand Dunes at Sunset, Atlantic City'' (c. 1885; oil on canvas) hangs in the Green Room at the
White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in ...
; it is the first painting by an African-American artist to have been purchased for the permanent collection of the White House. The painting is a landscape with a "view across the cool gray of a shadowed beach to dunes made pink by the late afternoon sunlight. A low haze over the water partially hides the sun." It was bought for $100,000 by the White House Endowment Fund during the
Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and again ...
administration from Dr. Rae Alexander-Minter, grandniece of the artist. His correspondence with Curtis between 1904 and 1937 is held at the
Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Found ...
. Tanner's work was included in the 2015 exhibition '' We Speak: Black Artists in Philadelphia, 1920s-1970s'' at the Woodmere Art Museum.


Exhibitions

* 1972: ''The Art of Henry Ossawa Tanner''. Glen Falls, New York: The Hyde Collection. * 1972: ''19th Century American Landscape''. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art. * 1976: ''
Two Centuries of Black American Art ''Two Centuries of Black American Art'' was a 1976 traveling exhibition of African-American art organized by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA). It "received greater visibility and validation from the mainstream art world than any other ...
''. Los Angeles County Museum of Art. * 1989: ''Black Art Ancestral Legacy: The African Impulse in African-American Art''. Dallas Museum of Art. * 1993: ''Revisiting the White City: American Art at the 1893 World's Fair'' * 2010: ''Henry Ossawa Tanner and his Contemporaries'', Des Moines Art Center (December–February 2011). * 2012: ''Henry Ossawa Tanner: Modern Spirit'', Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia (January–April), then to Cincinnati Art Museum (May–September) and to Houston Museum of Fine Arts (October–January 2013)


Selected works

* ''Seascape-Jetty'' (c. 1876–78) * ''Pomp at the Zoo'' (1880). Private Collection * ''Joachim Leaving the Temple'' (c. 1882–1888). Baltimore Museum of Art * ''Sand Dunes at Sunset, Atlantic City'' (1886). Estate of Sadie T. M. Alexander (On permanent display at the White House) * '' The Banjo Lesson'' (1893). Hampton University Museum, Virginia * '' The Thankful Poor'' (1894). Art Bridges * '' The Young Sabot Maker'' (1895). The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, Missouri * ''Daniel in the Lions' Den'' (1895).
Los Angeles County Museum of Art The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) is an art museum located on Wilshire Boulevard in the Miracle Mile vicinity of Los Angeles. LACMA is on Museum Row, adjacent to the La Brea Tar Pits (George C. Page Museum). LACMA was founded in 19 ...
* ''The Resurrection of Lazarus'' (1896).
Musée d'Orsay The Musée d'Orsay ( , , ) ( en, Orsay Museum) is a museum in Paris, France, on the Left Bank of the Seine. It is housed in the former Gare d'Orsay, a Beaux-Arts railway station built between 1898 and 1900. The museum holds mainly French a ...
, Paris * ''Bishop Benjamin Tucker Tanner'' (1897). Baltimore Museum of Art * '' Lions in the Desert'' (c. 1897–1900).
Smithsonian American Art Museum The Smithsonian American Art Museum (commonly known as SAAM, and formerly the National Museum of American Art) is a museum in Washington, D.C., part of the Smithsonian Institution. Together with its branch museum, the Renwick Gallery, SAAM holds ...
* '' The Annunciation'' (1898).
Philadelphia Museum of Art The Philadelphia Museum of Art (PMoA) is an art museum originally chartered in 1876 for the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. The main museum building was completed in 1928 on Fairmount, a hill located at the northwest end of the Benjamin ...
, W.P. Wilstach Collection * ''Moonlight Landscape'' (1898–1900).
Muscarelle Museum of Art The Muscarelle Museum of Art is a university museum affiliated with the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. While the Museum only dates to 1983, the university art collection has been in existence since its first gift – a por ...
, Williamsburg, VA. * ''Boy and Sheep Lying under a Tree'' (1881). Private Collection (On display at the
Philadelphia Museum of Art The Philadelphia Museum of Art (PMoA) is an art museum originally chartered in 1876 for the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. The main museum building was completed in 1928 on Fairmount, a hill located at the northwest end of the Benjamin ...
) * ''The Good Shepherd'' (1903).
Jane Voorhees Zimmerli Art Museum The Jane Voorhees Zimmerli Art Museum (known popularly as the Zimmerli Art Museum) is located on the Voorhees Mall of the campus of Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey. The museum houses more than 60,000 works, including Russian and ...
, Rutgers University * ''Return of the Holy Women'' (1904). Cedar Rapids Art Gallery, Iowa * ''Two Disciples at the Tomb'' (1905–06).
Art Institute of Chicago The Art Institute of Chicago in Chicago's Grant Park, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the world. Recognized for its curatorial efforts and popularity among visitors, the museum hosts approximately 1.5 mill ...
*
The Visitation
' (1909-10).
Kalamazoo Institute of Arts The Kalamazoo Institute of Arts (KIA) is a non-profit art museum and school in downtown Kalamazoo, Michigan, United States. History In 1924, members of the Kalamazoo Chapter of the American Federation of Arts established an art center "to further ...
* ''The Holy Family'' (1909–10). Muskegon Museum of Art, Michigan, Hackley Picture Fund * ''Moroccan Scene'' (about 1912). Birmingham Museum of Art, Alabama * ''Palace of Justice, Tangier'' (1912–13). Smithsonian American Art Museum * ''Scene in Cairo''.
Mabee-Gerrer Museum of Art The Mabee-Gerrer Museum of Art is a non-profit art museum in Shawnee, Oklahoma, USA. It is located on the Oklahoma Baptist University Green Campus, being the campus of the former St. Gregory's University. The museum operated independently of St. ...
, Shawnee, Oklahoma


Other works

File:Henry Ossawa Tanner - Abraham's Oak - Google Art Project.jpg, ''Abraham's Oak'', 1905 File:Henry Ossawa Tanner - 'A View of Fez', c. 1912, High Museum.JPG, ''A View of Fez'', c. 1912 File:Henry Ossawa Tanner - View of the Seine, looking toward Notre Dame (1896).jpg, ''View of the Seine, looking toward Notre Dame'', 1896 File:Henry Ossawa Tanner - Coastal Landscape, France.jpg, ''Coastal Landscape'', France, 1919 File:Henry Ossawa Tanner - Fishermen at Sea.jpg, ''Fishermen at Sea'', c. 1913 File:Henry Ossawa Tanner - The Young Sabot Maker - Google Art Project.jpg, '' The Young Sabot Maker'', 1895 File:Henry Ossawa Tanner - Mary 1914.jpg, ''Mary'', 1914 File:Henry Ossawa Tanner, The Disciples See Christ Walking on the Water, c. 1907.jpg, ''The Disciples See Christ Walking on the Water'', c. 1907 File:Henry Ossawa Tanner - Angels Appearing before the Shepherds.jpg, ''Angels Appearing before the Shepherds'', c. 1910 File:Henry Ossawa Tanner - Jesus and nicodemus.jpg, ''Jesus and Nicodemus'', 1899 File:Daniel in the Lions' Den LACMA 22.6.3.jpg, ''Daniel in the Lions' Den'', 1907–1918 File:Henry Ossawa Tanner - The Annunciation to the Shepards.jpg, ''The Annunciation to the Shepherds'', c. 1895 File:Henry Ossawa Tanner - Sand Dunes at Sunset, Atlantic City - Google Art Project.jpg, ''Sand Dunes at Sunset, Atlantic City'', c. 1885, the
White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in ...
. File:Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah by Henry Ossawa Tanner, 1929-30, High Museum of Art.jpg, ''Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah'', 1929–30,
High Museum of Art The High Museum of Art (colloquially the High) is the largest museum for visual art in the Southeastern United States. Located in Atlanta, Georgia (on Peachtree Street in Midtown, the city's arts district), the High is 312,000 square feet (28, ...


See also

* African American art *
List of Orientalist artists This is an incomplete list of artists who have produced works on Orientalist subjects, drawn from the Islamic world or other parts of Asia. Many artists listed on this page worked in many genres, and Orientalist subjects may not have formed a m ...
*
Orientalism In art history, literature and cultural studies, Orientalism is the imitation or depiction of aspects in the Eastern world. These depictions are usually done by writers, designers, and artists from the Western world. In particular, Orientalist p ...
*
Realism (arts) Realism in the arts is generally the attempt to represent subject matter truthfully, without artificiality and avoiding speculative and supernatural elements. The term is often used interchangeably with naturalism, although these terms are n ...


References


External links


White House Biography

Springfield Museum of Art Biography







''Henry Ossawa Tanner: Modern Spirit''
(University of California Press, 2012)—the most complete scholarly publication to date produced in conjunction with the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts (PAFA), Tanner's alma mater
Biographical sketch and gallery
at the
Smithsonian American Art Museum The Smithsonian American Art Museum (commonly known as SAAM, and formerly the National Museum of American Art) is a museum in Washington, D.C., part of the Smithsonian Institution. Together with its branch museum, the Renwick Gallery, SAAM holds ...
; Art online
''Moroccan Scene''
at the Birmingham Museum of Art
''Joachim Leaving the Temple'' (c. 1882–1888)
�� Baltimore Museum of Art E-Museum
''Bishop Benjamin Tucker Tanner'' (1897)
��Baltimore Museum of Art E-Museum
Archives of American Art The Archives of American Art is the largest collection of primary resources documenting the history of the visual arts in the United States. More than 20 million items of original material are housed in the Archives' research centers in Washing ...

Henry Ossawa Tanner Papers

Alexander family papers relating to Henry Ossawa Tanner, 1912–1985

Gallery of images and letters from the PAFA archivesHenry Ossawa Tanner papers, 1860s–1978, bulk 1890–1937
Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution. {{DEFAULTSORT:Tanner, Henry Ossawa 1859 births 1937 deaths 19th-century American painters 19th-century male artists 20th-century American painters African-American painters Académie Julian alumni American expatriates in France American male painters American realist painters Artists from Pittsburgh Chevaliers of the Légion d'honneur Christian artists Modern painters National Academy of Design members Orientalist painters Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts alumni Students of Thomas Eakins Tanner family of Pennsylvania African-American diaspora in Paris American diaspora in Europe