Henry Ossawa Tanner
Henry Ossawa Tanner (1859-1937) was an African American painter who became the first Black artist to gain international recognition, known for religious paintings including "The Annunciation" and "The Banjo Lesson" that combine technical mastery with spiritual depth. Born in Pittsburgh and raised in Philadelphia, Tanner studied under Thomas Eakins at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts before relocating to Paris in 1891 to escape the racism that constrained his American career. His success in France, where he exhibited at the prestigious Salon and won numerous honors, demonstrated the possibilities that American prejudice denied while making him a pioneering figure in African American artistic achievement.[1]
Philadelphia Childhood
[edit | edit source]Henry Ossawa Tanner was born on June 21, 1859, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to Benjamin Tucker Tanner and Sarah Elizabeth Miller Tanner. His father, a minister who became a bishop in the African Methodist Episcopal Church, moved the family to Philadelphia in 1868 when he assumed editorship of the Christian Recorder. Young Henry grew up in a cultured household where education and achievement were valued, his father's position providing access to African American intellectual society. A childhood encounter with a landscape painter at work in Fairmount Park sparked his determination to become an artist.[2]
Tanner's artistic ambitions faced immediate obstacles in a society that offered few opportunities for Black artists. His father initially discouraged the pursuit, understanding the barriers his son would face. Despite these concerns, Tanner enrolled at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in 1880, where he studied under Thomas Eakins. Eakins' encouragement provided crucial support, though Tanner later recalled the humiliation of being the only Black student in a hostile environment where classmates subjected him to racist harassment.[1]
Early Career
[edit | edit source]After leaving the Academy, Tanner struggled to establish himself as a professional artist while racial prejudice limited his opportunities. He briefly operated a photography studio in Atlanta and taught at Clark University, but neither venture provided sustainable income or artistic satisfaction. His early paintings, including genre scenes of African American life, found limited commercial success despite their artistic merit. "The Banjo Lesson" (1893), depicting an elderly man teaching a young boy to play the instrument, remains among his most celebrated works, its dignified treatment of Black subjects challenging contemporary stereotypes.[2]
In 1891, supported by funds from Bishop Joseph Crane Hartzell and others who recognized his talent, Tanner traveled to Paris to study. The move transformed his career. France offered opportunities unavailable in America, where his race constrained every professional endeavor. Tanner enrolled at the Académie Julian and immersed himself in Parisian artistic life. He would spend most of his remaining years in France, returning to America only for visits, finding in expatriation the freedom to develop his art that his homeland denied.[1]
Religious Paintings
[edit | edit source]Tanner's mature work focused primarily on religious subjects, rendered with a spiritual intensity that distinguishes his paintings from conventional academic treatments. "The Annunciation" (1898), depicting Mary receiving the angel Gabriel's message, won a medal at the Paris Salon and established his international reputation. The painting's unconventional treatment—Mary appears as a humble young woman in a modest room, the angel as a column of light rather than a winged figure—reflects Tanner's interest in humanizing sacred narratives while maintaining their spiritual power.[2]
Subsequent religious paintings including "The Raising of Lazarus," "Nicodemus Visiting Jesus," and numerous other Biblical subjects occupied Tanner through the early twentieth century. These works demonstrate his mastery of light and atmosphere, with luminous qualities that convey spiritual presence through painterly means. Tanner's religious paintings earned critical acclaim and commercial success in Europe, though American recognition remained limited by prejudice that could not accept a Black artist achieving such distinction.[1]
Legacy
[edit | edit source]Tanner received numerous honors during his lifetime, including election to the National Academy of Design in 1927 and the French Legion of Honor. He remained in France through World War I and until his death on May 25, 1937. His career demonstrated that African American artists could achieve the highest levels of artistic accomplishment when given opportunity, while his expatriation illustrated the costs that American racism imposed on talented individuals whose contributions the nation forfeited.[2]
Tanner's legacy includes both his artistic achievement and his pioneering role in African American art history. His success inspired subsequent generations of Black artists while his work expanded American understanding of what African American artists could accomplish. The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, where he had experienced such discrimination as a student, now celebrates his achievement as one of the institution's most distinguished graduates. His paintings hang in major museums worldwide, their spiritual power and technical mastery continuing to move viewers more than a century after their creation.[1]
See Also
[edit | edit source]- Thomas Eakins
- Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
- African American Philadelphia
- Mother Bethel AME Church