Henry Ossawa Tanner Research Paper

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Benjamin Tucker Tanner Research Paper One of the most famous African-American artists who gained international acclaim is Henry Ossawa Tanner. Henry was an African-American was born June 21, 1859 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and died May 25, 1937. Henry father, Benjamin Tucker Tanner was a college-educated teacher and African Methodist Minister and Henry mother, Sarah, was a strong woman who was able to escape slavery by using the Underground Railroad. Henry is different from other artists because he had to overcome the racial barrier that was going on during that time, his art world was exquisite and influential and he was the first African American artist to be internationally known. Henry was brought up mainly in Philadelphia and found a interests in the arts, …show more content…

He had a son with her which he named Jesse Ossawa Tanner who was born in 1903. Henry tried going back to America where he could live the remainder of his life but unfortunately the racially barrier was to string so he went back to Paris where he live for the rest of his life. Towards the end of Henry life he mainly focused on doing religious paintings. He even entered one of his pieces at the American Art Galleries in New York. This got him the title honorary chevalier of the Order of the Legion of Honor, France’s most distinguished award. Then soon after that, four years later, Henry became the first African American to be elected in the National Academy of Design in New York; which is a great Honor. Another fascinating thing that happened to Henry was that his art piece “Sand dunes at Sunset” became the first work by any African American artist to be acquired by the White House, this happened when Clinton was in office. “Sand dunes at Sunset” is a landscape which shows a quiet gray beach with dunes that are lite by a fading sun over smooth waves. This masterpiece was considered one of his most beautiful landscape

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