Henry Ossawa Tanner: Modern Spirit October 20, 2012–January 12, 2013
Henry Ossawa Tanner, View of the Seine, Looking toward Notre Dame, 1896, oil on canvas, courtesy of Michael Rosenfeld Gallery, LLC, New York, NY.
Henry Ossawa Tanner, The Resurrection of Lazarus, 1896, oil on canvas, Musée d’Orsay, Paris. © Réunion des Musées Nationaux / Art Resource, NY (Photo: Hervé Lewandoswki)
Henry Ossawa Tanner, Portrait of Booker T. Washington, 1917, oil on canvas, State Historical Society of Iowa, Des Moines.
Henry Ossawa Tanner, The Annunciation, 1898, oil on canvas, Philadelphia Museum of Art, purchased with the W. P. Wilstach Fund.
Henry Ossawa Tanner, Boy and Sheep under a Tree, 1881, oil on canvas, Philadelphia Museum of Art, private collection.
Henry Ossawa Tanner, Bust of Benjamin Tucker Tanner, 1894, patinated plaster, the Walters Art Museum, Baltimore, museum purchase with funds provided by the Eddie and Sylvia Brown Challenge Grant for the Acquisitions of African American Art and the estate of Anna Fehl. Photo © The Walters Art Museum
Henry Ossawa Tanner, The Disciples See Christ Walking on the Water, c. 1907, oil on canvas, Des Moines Art Center, gift of the Des Moines Association of Fine Arts.
Henry Ossawa Tanner, Interior of a Mosque, Cairo, 1897, oil on canvas, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, museum purchase with funds by exchange from the Hayden Collection–Charles Henry Hayden Fund, bequest of Kathleen Rothe, bequest of Barbara Brooks Walker, and gift of Mrs. Richard Storey in memory of Mrs. Bayard Thayer. Photo © 2012 Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
This major exhibition delves into the life and career of African American artist Henry Ossawa Tanner (1859–1937). The son of a former slave, Tanner trained in Philadelphia under American artist Thomas Eakins and went on to achieve international success. A survey of more than 100 works, Modern Spirit includes 12 paintings that have never been shown in a Tanner retrospective, as well as the only two known sculptures that Tanner completed. Also featured is the artist’s famed Resurrection of Lazarus, a career-making canvas on loan from the collection of the Musée d'Orsay that earned Tanner his first international praise in 1897. The painting had never crossed the Atlantic before this exhibition, which concludes its U.S. tour at the MFAH.
Modern Spirit follows Tanner's journey from his upbringing and training in Philadelphia after the Civil War; to Paris, where he joined the expatriate community of artists in the late 19th century, showing frequently at the Paris Salon and mentoring other African American artists; to his success at the highest levels of the international art world at the turn of the 20th century. The story continues with Tanner's unique contributions in aid of servicemen during World War I through the Red Cross in France; his Modernist invigoration of religious painting deeply rooted in his own faith; and his depictions of the Holy Land and North Africa. The exhibition also presents the first scientific and technical analysis of Tanner's artistic materials and methods.
Accompanying the show is the most substantial scholarly catalogue to date on Tanner’s life and work. The book includes 14 essays written by scholars from the United States and France.
This exhibition is organized by the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, PA. Exhibition Presenting Foundation sponsors: The Terra Foundation for American Art and the Henry Luce Foundation. This exhibition has been made possible in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities: Exploring the human endeavor. Leading support from the Mr. & Mrs. Raymond J. Horowitz Foundation for the Arts, Inc. Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this exhibition and publication do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Generous funding in Houston is provided by:
Carla Knobloch
John P. McGovern Foundation
David and Anne Frischkorn
Ann G. Trammell