Henry Ossawa Tanner (June 21, 1859 – May 25, 1937) was an American artiste and the first African-American painter to gain international acclaim. Tanner moved to Paris, France, in 1891 to study, and continued to live there after being in style in French artistic circles. His painting entitled Daniel in the Lions’ Den was all the rage into the 1896 Salon, the certified art exhibition of the Académie des Beaux-Arts in Paris.
After his own self-study in art as a teenage man, Tanner enrolled in 1879 at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia. The and no-one else black student, he became a favorite of the painter Thomas Eakins, who had recently begun teaching there. Tanner made other contacts among artists, including Robert Henri. In the late 1890s he was sponsored for a vacation to the Mutasarrifate of Jerusalem by Rodman Wanamaker, who was impressed by his paintings of biblical themes.
What do you think of the works of Henry Ossawa Tanner?
Use the form below to say your opinion about Henry Ossawa Tanner. All opinions are welcome!