Henry Ossawa Tanner: Modern Spirit
Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts - PAFA, Philadelphia
January 28 – April 15, 2012
Henry Ossawa Tanner: Modern Spirit is organized by the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA), where the artist studied from 1879 to 1885. The exhibition contains over 100 works, including 12 paintings that have never been shown in a Henry Ossawa Tanner retrospective and the only two known sculptures that Tanner completed. The exhibition also includes Tanner's famed Resurrection of Lazarus, from the collection of the Musée d'Orsay in Paris, a career-making canvas that earned Tanner his first international praise when it was exhibited in 1897 and which has never crossed the Atlantic.
“Henry O. Tanner is a transcendent figure both in art and in the history of America," remarks Harry Philbrick, Edna S. Tuttleman Director of the Museum. "His compelling story and rich body of work will make for a superb national traveling exhibition."
Henry Ossawa Tanner: Modern Spirit delves into the life and career of Henry O. Tanner (1859–1937) from his upbringing in Philadelphia in the years after the Civil War; through the artist’s training at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts; his success as an American artist at the highest levels of the international art world at the turn of the 20th century; his role as an elected leader of an artist’s colony in rural France; his 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 Tanner’s depiction of the Holy Land and North Africa.
Curator: Anna Marley, Curator of Historical American Art
Modern Spirit
Exhibition Catalogue
University of California Press
This beautiful book presents a complex overview of the life and career of the pioneering African American artist Henry O. Tanner (1859–1937). Recognized as the patriarch of African American artists, Tanner forged a path to international success, powerfully influencing younger black artists who came after him. This book explores many facets of Tanner’s life, including his upbringing in post–Civil War Philadelphia, his background as the son of a bishop in the African Methodist Episcopal church, and his role as the first major academically trained African American artist. Edited and introduced by Anna O. Marley, this volume expands our understanding of Tanner’s place in art history, showing that his status as a painter was deeply influenced by his race but not decided by it.
The most substantial scholarly catalogue to date on Tanner’s life and work accompanies the exhibition. This book includes 14 essays written by established and emerging scholars from the United States and France, and is being published by University of California Press. The catalogue includes essays by American scholars Richard Powell, Marc Simpson, Tyler Stovall, Marcus Bruce, Robert Cozzolino, Adrienne L. Childs, Alan Braddock, Michael Leja, and Anna O. Marley, and French scholars Olivier Meslay, Jean-Claude Lesage, and Hélène Valance.
Additionally, the first-ever children’s book about Henry O. Tanner was published by PAFA and Bunker Hill Press. Written and illustrated by the renowned artist-author Faith Ringgold, this publication will inspire generations of young people through the extraordinary accomplishments of Tanner.
After premiering at PAFA, the show will travel to the Cincinnati Art Museum, from May 26 - September 9, 2012, and the Houston Museum of Fine Arts, from October 21, 2012 - January 13, 2013.
Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts - PAFA
Broad and Cherry Streets, Philadelphia, PA 19102
Updated 30.04.2023
