Battling 19th-century discriminatory limitations and gaining international acclaim
The Banjo Lesson, 1893, Oil on Canvas, 124.4 x 90.1 cm, Hampton University Museum
Henry Ossawa Tanner is considered to be the most well-known African American artist of the 19th-century. Famous for his biblical subjects, Tanner was able to break heavy racial limitations and gained international acclaim. Despite his overwhelming talent and beautiful stylization, he still constantly faced racism in the art world.
"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."
In 1859, Tanner was born in Pittsburgh to a middle-class family. His father was college-educated and worked as a Bishop while his mother pushed for her seven children's education, being a former slave sent north from the Underground Railroad. Tanner became enamored with painting after noticing a painter on his walk in Fairmount Park, close to his childhood home. As most artists came to be, his father was quick to discourage his artistic pursuits instead suggesting Tanner learned the milling business. Though Tanner's body proved to be unfit for the industry, having to spend months recuperating which led to more time painting (this is a win-win situation in my opinion!).
At the age of twenty-one, he was accepted into the distinguished Pennsylvania Academy of the Arts - there, he studied under influential artists like Thomas Eakins which greatly influenced his early works. Just before graduating from the academy, Tanner left to go to Atlanta with a business venture in mind. Combining his love for art and his entrepreneurial spirit, Tanner opened a small photography gallery while teaching the arts at Clark College. However, this proved to be difficult. Tanner barely made enough money to continue living in Atlanta.
Enter the Hartzell's, wealthy white patrons of the arts who supported Tanner in the early beginnings of his budding artistic career. In the 18th and 19th centuries, often Black artists had the monetary backings of white patrons, allowing these artists to enter into the demanding and racially charged art world. However, this proved instrumental to the later success of Tanner as the Hartzell's were the ones to set up an exhibition in Cincinnati in the 1890s (and later bought all the artwork when none of them sold). This funded Tanner's trip to Europe, in an effort to explore and develop his artistic technique.
(First, Left) Resurrection of Lazarus, 1896, Oil on Canvas, 94.7 x 120.5 cm, Musée d'Orsay
(Second, Right) The Disciples See Christ Walking on the Water, 1907, Oil on Canvas, 130.81 x 106.68 cm, Des Moines Art Center
It is during this European journey that Tanner painted his most celebrated works. His subjects ranged from African-American life to working-class hardships and, finally his most famous, biblical allegories. His 1897 painting, Resurrection of Lazarus, so thoroughly impressed a Philadelphia merchant when he was visiting Paris that he actually funded an entire trip to the Holy Land for Tanner. This painting was awarded a third-class medal and the Parisian government eventually bought the piece to be shown in an exhibition at the Luxembourg Gallery, subsequently landing in the collection of the Louvre.
(First, Left) The Young Sabot Maker, 1895, Oil on Canvas, 120.3 x 89.8 cm, Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art
(Second, Right) The Arch, 1914, Oil on Canvas, 99.7 × 97 cm, Brooklyn Museum
Invigorated and confident of his European success, he felt compelled to visit Philadelphia and attempted to reenter the American art landscape. However, similar to the American reception of Josephine Baker, he was immediately hit with a wall of racism that prevented him from staying in Philly. He eventually returned to Paris and married Jessie Olssen, a white opera singer (I cannot imagine how radical this would have been in America during this time!). Together they had one child in New York but permanently settled down in France, living in Paris and Normandy.
Daniel in the Lions' Den, 1895, Oil on Paper Mounted on Canvas, 104.4 x 126.8 cm, Los Angeles Country Museum of Art
Tanner continued to lead a successful and fruitful art career. At the Parisian Universal Exposition, Daniel in the Lions' Den won a silver medal in 1900 and also won another silver medal in Buffalo's Pan American exhibition. Eight years later, Tanner had his first solo exhibition in galleries across New York and became a member of the National Academy of Design just two years later. He gained France's highest honor, the Order of the Legion of Honor, and became a permanent academician at the National Academy of Design in 1927. This was monumental since he was the first African American to become a fulltime member.
Sand Dunes are Sunset, Atlantic City, 1885, Oil on Canvas, 76.7 x 151 cm, The White House
On May 25, 1937, Henry Ossawa Tanner passed away in his Parisian home. His name became muddled in history for a brief moment of time before regaining well-deserved recognition in the 1960s due to the Smithsonian's solo exhibition of his work. Additionally, the Philadelphia Museum of Art created a touring exhibition of his art in 1991, sparking new interest in his life.
"I believe the Negro blood counts, and counts to my advantage - though it has caused me at times a life of great humiliation and sorrow."
This brings me to an important topic for me to talk about. As we have seen through the life of Henry Ossawa Tanner, the art world, especially in America, still exudes and sustains an "Ivory Tower" mentality. Despite this being 2020, "Ivory Tower" is still evident in the lack of POC-related artwork in large institutional collections, a predominantly white curatorial and art professor population, the outrageously high expense of "prestigious" art schools, the lack of resources to fund accessibility programs in famous museums, and the inherent nepotism associated with the "fine art" world.
Additionally, it is rare to find leaders and trustees of color even in this contemporary time. I have always been a firm believer that diversity leads to innovation and cross-cultural communication that is so needed in today's world. Art is truly a transformative object, who are we to limit this essential "commodity" to the select few?
From times working with art institutions and nonprofit organizations, I can say that we are slowly stepping towards that much-needed change but there is still a heavy disconnect between action and an organization's true mission. I hope that the current social situation allows for the rapid progression and self-analysis these influential art bodies so desperately need.
The art world needs to change and we are tasked with doing so.
And that's art.
Sources
Biography.com Editors. “Henry Ossawa Tanner Biography.” The Biography.com website, April 2, 2014. https://www.biography.com/artist/henry-ossawa-tanner.
“Henry Ossawa Tanner.” Smithsonian American Art Museum, n.d. Accessed June 11, 2020. https://americanart.si.edu/artist/henry-ossawa-tanner-4742.