In honor of Martin Luther King Day, I want call attention to the African-American artist, Henry Ossawa Tanner. A native of Pittsburgh, he studied in Philadelphia and eventually moved to Paris, where he had an internationally successful career as a painter. During my research, I read about him with interest because he was Jeanette’s almost exact contemporary. Although he is known specially for his Biblical paintings, I have chosen this charcoal drawing, not only to honor the day, but to illustrate how powerful such figure studies of the period could be.
For more images of Tanner’s artwork, click here.
For more images of Tanner’s artwork, click here.