Henry Ossawa Tanner Portrayal "Seeing the Artist's Vision"

As a Humanities and Religious Studies major, Pastor Paul Tillman is well studied in the life and art of Henry Ossawa Tanner, and has portrayed Tanner numerous times. Speaking in the character of H. O. Tanner, circa 1908, the subjects of artistry, race, and Christianity will all be touched upon in this presentation, as we explore life and purpose. Copies of Tanner’s work will be displayed. Feel free to come as you are, or dress in period clothing.

In 1859, six years before the end of the civil war, Henry Ossawa Tanner was born to Bishop Benjamin Tucker Tanner, a minister of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, and his wife Sarah Miller Tanner, a former slave. At age twelve, a young Henry decided would make a career as an artist,and began to teach himself to paint. In 1891, Tanner moved to Paris to continue his work as an artist and escape the prejudices in the United States. While in France, he first received acclaim as a painter, over twenty years before the beginning of the Harlem Renaissance. It was also there he met, and later married, Jessie Olson. Never having great health or wealth, nonetheless, Tanner was strong in his Christian faith, which can be seen though his life and his art.