HENRY OSSAWA TANNER Typical of the Realist painter’s
desire to depict the lives of ordinary people is the early work of the
American artist Henry Ossawa Tanner(1859–1937). Tanner stud-
ied art with Eakins before moving to Paris. There he combined
Eakins’s belief in careful study from nature with a desire to portray
with dignity the life of the ordinary people he had been raised
among as the son of an African American minister in Pennsylvania.
The mood in The Thankful Poor (FIG. 30-40) is one of quiet devo-
tion not far removed from the Realism of Millet (FIG. 30-29). Tanner
painted the grandfather, grandchild, and main objects in the room
with the greatest detail, while everything else dissolves into loose
strokes of color and light. Expressive lighting reinforces the paint-
ing’s reverent spirit, with deep shadows intensifying the man’s de-
vout concentration and golden light pouring in the window to illu-
minate the quiet expression of thanksgiving on the younger face.
The deep sense of sanctity expressed here in terms of everyday expe-
rience became increasingly important for Tanner. Within a few years
of completing The Thankful Poor,he began painting biblical subjects
grounded in direct study from nature and in the love of Rembrandt
that had inspired him from his days as a Philadelphia art student.
EDMONIA LEWIS About 15 years older than Tanner, the
sculptor Edmonia Lewis(ca. 1845–after 1909) produced work that
was stylistically indebted to Neoclassicism but depicted contempo-
rary Realist themes.Forever Free (FIG. 30-41) is a marble sculpture
30-41Edmonia Lewis,Forever Free,1867. Marble, 3 51 – 4 high.
James A. Porter Gallery of Afro-American Art, Howard University,
Washington, D.C.
Lewis was a sculptor whose work owes a stylistic debt to Neoclassicism
but depicts contemporary Realist themes. She carved Forever Freefour
years after Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation.
30-40Henry Ossawa
Tanner,The Thankful Poor,
- Oil on canvas, 2 11 –^12
3 81 – 4 . Collection of William H.
and Camille Cosby.
Tanner combined the Realists’
belief in careful study from
nature with a desire to portray
with dignity the life of African
American families. Expressive
lighting reinforces the painting’s
reverent spirit.
808 Chapter 30 EUROPE AND AMERICA, 1800 TO 18701 ft.1 ft.