WATTS INDEXThe canonical database of visual culture

Artists›Henry Ossawa Tanner

Henry Ossawa Tanner

Henry Ossawa Tanner

American, 1859–1937

WA-00035535

Drawing

Representation

None documented

1

Institutional Exhibitions

80

Works in Collection

91

Assets Indexed

3

Authority-backed Facts

0

Publications Referenced

80%

Profile Completeness

Cultural Positioning

Influence Graph

No influence edges encoded yet.

Authority Records (2)

WikidataQ1374436

Selected Institutional Exhibitions

View all exhibitions →

No image

The Natural Paradise: Painting in America 1800�1950

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1976

Field Verification (3 fields)

3 cross-verified · 0 single-source

Birth yearDuplicate Merge· 85%✓
Death yearDuplicate Merge· 85%✓
NationalityDuplicate Merge· 85%✓

Source Registry (1)

MoMA bulk 2026-05-04https://www.moma.org/artists/62810
Tier 1 · Institutional92%

About

Why this artist matters now

Henry Ossawa Tanner was an American painter who worked primarily in oil, depicting biblical narratives and scenes of African American domestic life with a refined academic technique and atmospheric light. Born in Pittsburgh in 1859, he trained under Thomas Eakins at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts before relocating to Paris, where he developed his characteristic approach to religious subject matter. His paintings combined naturalistic observation with spiritual contemplation, establishing him as one of the first African American artists to achieve sustained international recognition. Tanner died in Paris in 1937.

Source: Moma Bulk 2026 05 04 · Trust score: 92% · Updated 1mo ago

Graph relationships

Taste overlap and adjacency

Movement

—

Medium

Drawing

Related Artists

6 in graph

Institutional

Museum Collections

The Metropolitan Museum of Art Cleveland Museum of Art Smithsonian American Art Museum Art Institute of Chicago Museum of Modern ArtNew York National Gallery of Art

Canonical record

Artworks (80)

Study for the Disciple Peter

Study for the Disciple Peter

1933 · conte crayon and charcoal on paper mounted on paperboard

sheet: 18 1/2 x 14 3/4 in. (47.1 x 37.5 cm)

Smithsonian American Art Museum

Study for Mary, Return from the Crucifixion

Study for Mary, Return from the Crucifixion

1933 · pencil and conte crayon on paper mounted on paperboard

sheet: 15 1/8 x 14 1/8 in. (38.3 x 36.0 cm)

Smithsonian American Art Museum

Hand of Henry O. Tanner

Hand of Henry O. Tanner

1930 · conte crayon on paper

sheet: 10 5/8 x 14 in. (27.0 x 35.5 cm)

Smithsonian American Art Museum

The Good Shepherd

The Good Shepherd

1930 · oil paint

29 7/8 x 36 in. (75.8 x 91.3 cm)

Smithsonian American Art Museum

Haystacks

1930 · oil paint

26 1/4 x 21 in. (66.7 x 53.3 cm.)

Smithsonian American Art Museum

He Healed the Sick

He Healed the Sick

1930 · oil paint

16 1/4 x 21 1/2 in. (41.3 x 54.5 cm)

Smithsonian American Art Museum

Study for Christ and Nicodemus on a Rooftop

Study for Christ and Nicodemus on a Rooftop

1923 · oil on wood panel

9 1/2 x 13 in. (24.0 x 33.0 cm.)

Smithsonian American Art Museum

Flight Into Egypt

1923 · Oil on canvas

29 x 26 in. (73.7 x 66 cm)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Moses in the Bullrushes

Moses in the Bullrushes

1921 · oil paint

22 3/8 x 15 1/8 in. (56.8 x 38.5 cm)

Smithsonian American Art Museum

The Good Shepherd

The Good Shepherd

1918 · oil on canvas on particle board

overall: 60.33 × 48.26 cm (23 3/4 × 19 in.) framed: 71.76 × 60.33 × 3.49 cm (28 1/4 × 23 3/4 × 1 3/8 in.)

National Gallery of Art

A.R.C. Canteen, World War I

A.R.C. Canteen, World War I

1918 · charcoal on paper mounted on paperboard

sheet: 17 1/2 x 22 in. (44.4 x 55.9 cm)

Smithsonian American Art Museum

Untitled (Flight into Egypt)

1918 · Oil on paperboard

Unframed: 9 7/8 × 11 5/8 in. (25.1 × 29.5 cm) Framed: 13 × 9 1/2 in. (33 × 24.1 cm)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Flight into Egypt

Flight into Egypt

1916 · oil on wood

16 7/8 x 16 7/8 in. (43.0 x 43.0 cm)

Smithsonian American Art Museum

Mary

1914 · oil on canvas

45 1/2 x 34 3/4 in. (115.5 x 88.2 cm.)

Smithsonian American Art Museum

Return to the Tomb

Return to the Tomb

1914 · lithograph on paper

image: 9 5/8 x 11 1/4 in. (24.3 x 28.6 cm)

Smithsonian American Art Museum

Fishermen at Sea

Fishermen at Sea

1913 · oil on canvas

46 x 35 1/4 in. (116.9 x 89.5 cm.)

Smithsonian American Art Museum

Christ Walking on the Water

Christ Walking on the Water

1913 · Etching

plate: 7 3/16 × 9 1/2" (18.2 × 24.1 cm); sheet: 10 13/16 × 13 3/16" (27.5 × 33.5 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Capsized Fishing Boats, Brittany

Capsized Fishing Boats, Brittany

1913 · Etching

plate: 5 3/4 × 7 11/16" (14.6 × 19.6 cm); sheet: 10 13/16 × 13 3/16" (27.5 × 33.5 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Palace of Justice, Tangier

Palace of Justice, Tangier

1912 · oil paint

25 5/8 x 31 7/8 in. (65.1 x 81.0 cm)

Smithsonian American Art Museum

Mosque, Tangier

Mosque, Tangier

1912 · Etching

plate: 6 13/16 × 9 1/4" (17.3 × 23.5 cm); sheet: 10 13/16 × 13 1/8" (27.4 × 33.4 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Gate in Tangier

Gate in Tangier

1912 · Etching

plate: 9 3/8 × 7 1/16" (23.8 × 17.9 cm); sheet: 13 1/8 × 10 13/16" (33.3 × 27.4 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Christ Walking on the Water

Christ Walking on the Water

1910 · etching in black on laid paper

plate: 18.42 × 24.13 cm (7 1/4 × 9 1/2 in.) sheet: 20.48 × 26.04 cm (8 1/16 × 10 1/4 in.)

National Gallery of Art

Angels Appearing before the Shepherds

Angels Appearing before the Shepherds

1910 · oil on canvas

25 3/4 x 31 7/8 in. (65.3 x 81.1 cm)

Smithsonian American Art Museum

Street Scene, Tangier (Crenelated Architecture)

Street Scene, Tangier (Crenelated Architecture)

1910 · oil on paperboard

10 5/8 x 13 3/4 in. (27.0 x 34.9 cm.)

Smithsonian American Art Museum

View all 80 artworks →

Artwork sources (7)

80 published of 88 catalogued · 83 with image

Smithsonian
66 published66 img
The Met
5 published
MoMA
4 publishedof 8 catalogued8 img
Nga
3 published3 img
Cleveland Museum of Art
1 published1 img
Art Institute Chicago
1 published1 img
+ 1 more source · 4 catalogued, not yet published

Per-Artwork Provenance Chains (top 10)

50 entries · 1 sources

Palace of Justice, Tangier
1912 · Smithsonian · 5 prov
Wikidata·titleWikidata·mediumWikidata·year_createdWikidata·primary_image_urlWikidata·artwork_type
Profile of a Woman's Head
1898 · Smithsonian · 5 prov
Wikidata·titleWikidata·mediumWikidata·year_createdWikidata·primary_image_urlWikidata·artwork_type
Untitled (Nocturnal Landscape)
1901 · Smithsonian · 5 prov
Wikidata·titleWikidata·mediumWikidata·year_createdWikidata·primary_image_urlWikidata·artwork_type
The Seine
1902 · Nga · 5 prov
Wikidata·titleWikidata·mediumWikidata·year_createdWikidata·primary_image_urlWikidata·artwork_type
The Young Sabot Maker
1895 · Smithsonian · 5 prov
Wikidata·titleWikidata·mediumWikidata·year_createdWikidata·primary_image_urlWikidata·artwork_type
Moses in the Bullrushes
1921 · Smithsonian · 5 prov
Wikidata·titleWikidata·mediumWikidata·year_createdWikidata·primary_image_urlWikidata·artwork_type
Haystacks
1930 · Smithsonian · 5 prov
Wikidata·titleWikidata·mediumWikidata·year_createdWikidata·primary_image_urlWikidata·artwork_type
The Canyon
1898 · Smithsonian · 5 prov
Wikidata·titleWikidata·mediumWikidata·year_createdWikidata·primary_image_urlWikidata·artwork_type
Country Road in France
1898 · Smithsonian · 5 prov
Wikidata·titleWikidata·mediumWikidata·year_createdWikidata·primary_image_urlWikidata·artwork_type
Two Disciples at the Tomb
1906 · AIC · 5 prov
Wikidata·titleWikidata·mediumWikidata·year_createdWikidata·primary_image_urlWikidata·artwork_type

Record

Images

Artsy artist portrait

Artsy

Henry Ossawa Tanner (Wikipedia)

Wikipedia

Henry Ossawa Tanner (Wikipedia)

Wikipedia

Relationships

6

Collections6

The Metropolitan Museum of Art Cleveland Museum of Art Smithsonian American Art Museum Art Institute of Chicago Museum of Modern Art National Gallery of Art

Institutional

Representation & Collections

In collection

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

In collection

Cleveland Museum of Art

In collection

Smithsonian American Art Museum

In collection

Art Institute of Chicago

In collection

Museum of Modern Art

New York, US

In collection

National Gallery of Art

Record

Exhibitions and timeline

Group Exhibition The Natural Paradise: Painting in America 1800�1950

New York · 1976