Henry Ossawa Tanner lived and worked in Paris, becoming the first African-American painter to gain international fame.
c. 1890 - 1940
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Henry Ossawa Tanner, The Good Shepherd
Painted after the end of World War I and amid pressure to "represent his race" as a Black man, Tanner brings biblical scenes into the modern world
Henry Ossawa Tanner, The Banjo Lesson
Tanner studied in Philadelphia and Paris, and his style combined elements of American Realism and earlier European artists.
Henry Ossawa Tanner, Angels Appearing before the Shepherds
Refusing to be known only for African-American genre pictures, Tanner was devoted to lush religious scenes.
