Painter
Henry Ossawa Tanner
The first African American painter to win international fame, who made his home and name in France.
On Picturepops™ cards · 1
The life
1859–1937Born Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States
Henry Ossawa Tanner was born in Pittsburgh and grew up in Philadelphia, where he studied painting. In 1891 he moved to Paris to study at the Académie Julian, and he spent most of the rest of his life in France, where his paintings won medals and, in 1923, the Legion of Honour. He became the first African American painter to gain international acclaim. Our card, Palace of Justice, Tangier, is one of the paintings he made after travelling to Morocco, and is now at the Smithsonian American Art Museum.